Author M. S. Berry on the 'what if?' of thriller writing

Michelle Berry, who also writes as M.S. Berry, has been widely published in many Canadian literary magazines, national newspapers, and anthologies. She is the author of eight books of fiction, including The Tenant and Behind the Door, published by Turnstone Press. Two novels have been published in the UK as well as Canada. Michelle is a reviewer for The Globe and Mail, and teaches at the University of Toronto and Humber College. Born in California and raised in Victoria, B.C., Michelle lives in Peterborough with her family. Michelle discusses her evolution into a more critical writer, the "What if?" of thriller writing, and the appeal of dysfunctional family dramas to her as a writer.

Author M.S. Berry

The "what if" of thriller writing and real life inspiration

OCW: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?

MSB: This is an oddly easy question to answer even though I don’t write anything autobiographical. There are always small events and situations in my life that bleed through my writing. The Tenant is a prime example. A double-booked tenant at a house my family and I were loaned in Germany in 1997 started a whole train of thought for me: what if the tenant had ulterior motives? And how were we to share a house with a stranger? I made the main character in my book a thriller writer who works on all the things I’m often struggling with and suddenly I had a plot. In Behind the Door I leaned heavily on my daughter’s travels to Europe, the things she would mention as she did her PhD—what was available to rent, to eat, who she met, etc.

The Tenant, by M.S. Berry

My books aren’t situations that actually happened, but they are fleshed out versions of my imagination—what could have happened? I tend to take an idea and twist it slightly, making it scarier or more questionable than what happens in real life. I guess I walk around with a lit up sign in my brain that flashes, “What if?” Perhaps that should be the epitaph on my tombstone?

The evolution from spontaneous imagination to critical craft

OCW: Has your writing evolved over the years? If so, how? Through writing experience? Reading a lot? Writing courses or communities? A combination, or something else?

MSB: My writing has definitely evolved over the years. I think back to my first book of stories for Turnstone Press, How to Get There from Here in 1997, and ask myself who wrote that? My style, my grammar, my structure, my thoughts on the page are all better now, tighter I think, and more thoughtful. I know I’ve found my style, but I often worry that I have lost a lot of my innocence and naivety now—which could be a good or a bad thing. Now I stress about writing more than I did before.

I used to turn on the “TV in my brain” and just sit back and watch and translate on the page. Now I turn that imaginative “TV” on and think too much. I focus on all the details and the developments of the plot and characters and I question the things that come out on the page. So I guess I’ve evolved to be a more critical writer, which I worry has dampened down some of the joy in the process of writing.

Behind the Door, by M.S. Berry

I’ve made my life harder as I’ve aged and that means I’ve learned a lot, I guess. I’ve gotten older and my writing has gotten older. I often wonder if a person would be able to read one of my first books without a cover, and one of my last books without a cover, and know that they are from the same author.

Recurring themes of dysfunctional families and domestic spaces

OCW: Can you trace any common themes across your writing?

MSB: When I explain what I write—as anytime you tell anyone you are a writer they ask, “What do you write?” —I usually say “dysfunctional family dramas.” There is something about the connections between people, especially in families, that intrigues me and has become a theme in my work. And houses. I often write about houses. One of my recurring dreams is of walking through a house that keeps changing—there will be a bowling alley in the basement in one dream, or a movie theater/stage in the attic in another. A bedroom that is full of machines that produce candy, or a parrot in the kitchen. My common themes: houses and families. And there is always something in my writing that goes wrong or something that is mistaken. Connections between characters are broken for some reason, or misinterpreted. I think I work out my own worries in my writing and my themes reflect that.

OCW: Which authors and/or types of books do you like to read?

MSB: I read widely. I read all over the place—novels, short stories, memoirs, cereal boxes, ingredient lists, directions for how to put together furniture. I read literary genres, thrillers, award winners, mystery books, things my friends and colleagues have recommended. Generally, the literary vein makes me want to write the most. Books like Endling or Safekeep or A Little Life or Klara and the Sun (I’m just rambling off the top of my head right now).

I like books that don’t draw attention to the act of reading, where I don’t even notice that I’m staring at little black scratches on a piece of flattened wood, where I don’t even notice that I’m holding something, where I just disappear. But those books that also have something off, something strange in the background are my favourite.

Dysfunctional people, a character lurking in the back, an accident that isn’t solved, those books pull me in—like all the books I just mentioned above—who is stealing and why in Safekeep, what is the Artificial Friend up to in Klara and the Sun? I like books where the rhythm of the sentences is unnoticeable, where the characters charm me or worry me or frighten me, or make me laugh, where the plot is compelling and endless. I think a lot of literary books have thriller qualities and that’s what I hope I’m doing with my own work. There’s a little bit of fear placed in the plot somewhere, a small scary thing that may or may not jump out at you that I find intriguing. I like books where something makes me slightly uncomfortable and sets my nerves tingling. I don’t have a favourite writer, really, I have lots of favourite writers and am constantly surprised by new ones.

OCW: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

MSB: My advice has changed over the years. I had lots of detailed, small advice for writers when I taught writing classes, now I think the only thing I focus on now is to READ. And read a lot. Read all different genres and forms of writing. An article in a magazine could compel you to write your next novel, an ingredient list on the back of a cereal box could give you an idea. Read, read, read. And, finally, WRITE. A lot of people say “I could be a writer” but they don’t write. You have to put marks on a page in order to finish something.