We all love the sequel don’t we? Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… Oceans 11, 12 and 13. Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum. Personal favorites of mine. Jason Bourne just rocks. But I love Back to the Future 1 and 3. Two, not so much. Yet all of these sequels star the same recurring characters. What would happen if Rocky 7 became Son of Rocky and Sylvester Stallone played a secondary role, if any role at all, and some new guy, say Jesse Metcalf, played Rocky’s son. For all practical purposes you have a brand new story and it must be treated as such. You can’t rely on the old Rocky standards of hit movie making. You can’t just promote Rocky’s son into his father’s place. He […]
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How to set up and deliver the Suspense Black Moment.
Yesterday, we talked about the substance of the Black Moment and how to craft it, making it Personal, Plausible and it leads up to the Epiphany of the novel. But, how do you deliver such a Black Moment? First, you need to start with…The Hint… At the beginning of every great novel, or movie, there is a hint at what a character’s greatest fears might be. It can be something they experience and never want to repeat. It can be something a friend has gone through. It can be something they witness…but we need to see if (even if we don’t recognize it as the hint…although now you will!) Because it will give us that dark foreboding we need to make the fear seem…well, dark. One of my favorite hints […]
Read the RestPeripheral Plotting – a trick to widening your suspense plot
You need to employ some Peripheral Plotting! Peripheral Plotting is the technique of pulling in ancillary elements and using them to create more tension in your plot. Ideally, they will make your character have to tap into a more noble instinct and push them along their journey. How does Peripheral Plotting work? I’m going to veer away from Cellular and Eagle Eye for a moment – only because they are such straightforward plots, and look at Live Free or Die Hard the latest in the Bruce Willis saves the world saga. Live Free or Die Hard is a perfect example of peripheral plotting. Basically, through the Internet, the bad guys are trying to take over all the transportation, finances and utilities in the United States, and if they succeed, the […]
Read the RestI ain’t afraid of nuthin! (Creating the Perfect Suspense Heroine Day 2)
Yesterday, we talked about how to make the plot personal for your heroine so that she’ll leave her life and jump into the world of the suspense. That personal element is what will keep your heroine running forward, despite the looming fears before her. Case in point – I hate caves, especially a submerged cave. Never would I ever enter a cave under water. However, if my child was trapped inside, you betchya. Just a simple illustration, but if you were using me as your suspense heroine, this would be a great fear to dangle before me to ramp up the stakes. I’d have to reach deep inside and find the courage to fit myself through one of those dark, slimy crevasses. Which leads me to […]
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