Ruth Ware is a master of modern psychological thrillers and mysteries and has enthralled readers worldwide with her dark, twisted narratives and unforgettable characters. Her meticulous writing process weaves suspense and excitement into every page and has made her a household name in the literary world. Her novels are now being transformed into audiobooks, with narrators who are bringing her stories to life in new and exciting ways. We were able to sit down with Ruth and talk to her about her writing process, what motivates her, and more.

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

Lyla’s life is at a standstill, with her post-doctoral research faltering, not being able to find a job and her relationship with Nico on shaky ground. But when Nico gets the chance to join a reality TV show called One Perfect Couple, she reluctantly agrees to audition with him. After passing the auditions, the couple finds themselves on Ever After Island, competing against other couples for a massive cash prize. Their adventure, however, takes a dangerous turn when an unexpected storm blows in and cuts them off from the outside world, leaving them stranded and forced to work together for survival. But working together is difficult when resources are dwindling and tensions are rising.

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When did you first discover your love of writing? And subsequently your love of thriller writing?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl. I think the first time I realized I might actually be pretty good at this was when I wrote a story for my teacher for a Halloween project. It was about an old man who is the caretaker of a factory, and hears spooky noises one night while he’s clearing up. He ends up being turned into a toad. My teacher was impressed but didn’t believe I could have written it myself. I think she thought my choice of an elderly male narrator was a strange one for a seven year old girl! She took my mum aside and grilled her to make sure she hadn’t helped me write it. My love of thrills and mysteries was definitely always there, right from the beginning!

You’ve had such huge successes in your writing career, how do you keep pushing yourself after reaching heights so many writers dream of?

It honestly doesn’t feel like pushing myself. I just love telling stories and sharing them with readers. But even if all this ended tomorrow, if someone got out their crystal ball and told me I’d never be published again, I would still keep writing. For me it’s a huge part of how I make sense of the world – being able to make a living from all this is the cherry on the cake, but it’s not why I write.

As the literary landscape continues to evolve with the popularity of audiobooks and BookTok, has your writing been influenced by these popular formats and mediums?

Well, I love listening to audiobooks and I’m completely addicted to social media, but I don’t think about that side of things when I write. Mostly my writing involves a complicated game of pretending that no one but me will ever read this book. If I thought too hard about how it would be received or what people would think, I think I’d lose the confidence to write it the way I wanted to.

Can you describe your typical writing day? Do you have any specific routines or rituals?

I try to treat writing as much like a job as possible – so my kids go off to school, I shut myself in my office, and then in theory I type from about 9am to 4pm when they come home and I shut down for the day. I say “in theory” because like most writers I’m a terrible procrastinator and I spend a lot of time noodling about on the internet instead of actually writing.

Your books are known for their plot twists. How do you plan and execute these twists?

The big reveals – the whodunnits and so on – those I know from the beginning, and the book is structured around leading up to that big “aha!” moment. But the twists, when they happen, which isn’t every book, are often a surprise to me. I sometimes find that books structured around preserving a twist can be a bit unsatisfying. You can sort of feel the writer is withholding information or structuring the narrative in a certain way to make the twist work. The best twists arise organically – and when that happens it’s hugely exciting.

What techniques do you use to maintain suspense throughout your novels?

I generally try to give readers a reason to turn the page – be that a question they want answered, a conundrum or discrepancy in the narrative that’s puzzling them, or a character they are worried about. Obviously with crime and thrillers you’re lucky – you have a big baked-in question at the heart of the narrative that powers the whole book. But one question with an answer you won’t find out for most of the book isn’t usually enough to keep a reader interested; you need to sow the pages with smaller questions that you can promise answers to much faster.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your writing career, and how did you overcome it?

Self doubt. I spent years writing and putting books under the bed because I didn’t think I was good enough.

What do you think makes a great psychological thriller?

A great, hooky premise, and characters you care about. If you aren’t invested in the characters, you won’t care about the outcome – and ultimately that’s the most important part of any book.

What do you think makes a great psychological thriller on audio? Do you have a role in casting the narrators of your novels?

My narrator, Imogen Church, was picked by my publishers, but I love her work and I know a lot of readers have found her through me. I think it’s really hard to say what makes a good narrator, as it varies from book to book – the right narrator for one type of novel won’t necessarily work for another. But there are some definite no-nos for me: bad accents (as in, someone imitating an accent unconvincingly), audible mouth breathing, characters I can’t distinguish. Basically you want someone who will bring the characters to life and help readers feel the emotions you were trying to convey. Imogen is brilliant at that. I’m very lucky.

Be sure to check out Ruth Ware’s books and many others on Spotify Audiobooks.