Great piece in the New York Times about how technology is ruining classic plot devices. You know the sort of thing - a missed connection, one character not being able to get hold of another at a vital moment...All of this is particularly applicable to thrillers and, as I'm currently writing one, I couldn't agree more. It's hard enough to achieve and maintain tension without having to factor in GPS and phone technology, all of which mean that effectively your protagonist need never be out of touch.  The trouble is, vulnerability = danger and unless you expose your protagonist to mounting peril your levels of tension will be more flaccid than the average ex-banker's excuses.   Better perhaps to follow author MJ Rose's lead and set your next book in an era where such devices did not exist (in her case, 1948). Then again, some writers - notably Stephen King - use technology as a main plot device.  Those of us who have read Cell may never look at our phones in the same way again although I prefer the more visceral kick of the book/film Misery which illustrated all too clearly that human depravity outstrips that of any machine.  Of course, it's ...