Matt Rees's Blog, page 2
March 28, 2014
Write a thriller: Conceal to create suspense in writing
Trick readers, but don't hoodwink them
In his fabulous essay The Simple Art of Murder Raymond Chandler wrote that “The solution must seem inevitable once revealed.” That means the end of a thriller or mystery mustn't turn on tricks or hidden clues. There must be nothing that the reader couldn’t have figured out, if they truly wanted to. Certainly nothing that makes the reader feel cheated.
So how do you create a conclusion to a thriller like that?
In a BBC interview to promote his book Inferno last week Dan Brown had this to say:
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a famous Sherlock Holmes story. More famous frankly for its spooky atmosphere and its movie depictions than for its employment of plot. It’s the greatest example of a cheating author in crime fiction. Just the kind of plot that leaves a reader perplexed and upset in the manner Dan Brown wants to avoid.
How does Holmes solve the mystery? By referring to a painting on the wall of Baskerville Hall, which makes clear what really happened. No one, including the narrator Dr. Watson, had paid attention to the picture, otherwise they too would’ve solved the mystery. The reader doesn't even know of the picture's existence until Holmes tells Watson to take a look at it, after he has declared who the bad guy was.
That’s cheating.
The Russian playwright Anton Chekhov said that if a gun is brandished in Act I, it must be fired in Act III.
Let’s switch that about and make a rule for thrillers: If a gun is fired in Act III, let the reader see someone brandish it in Act I.
In his fabulous essay The Simple Art of Murder Raymond Chandler wrote that “The solution must seem inevitable once revealed.” That means the end of a thriller or mystery mustn't turn on tricks or hidden clues. There must be nothing that the reader couldn’t have figured out, if they truly wanted to. Certainly nothing that makes the reader feel cheated.
So how do you create a conclusion to a thriller like that?
In a BBC interview to promote his book Inferno last week Dan Brown had this to say: "I really believe that true suspense comes not from what you tell the reader, but from what you conceal. That is the trick to writing something suspenseful. If you do your job well, most readers will not get it. And then when you tell them, they'll look back and say, 'I can't believe I didn't see it. It was right there in front of me.' You never want a reader to look back and say, 'Well, how was I ever going to guess that.'"
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a famous Sherlock Holmes story. More famous frankly for its spooky atmosphere and its movie depictions than for its employment of plot. It’s the greatest example of a cheating author in crime fiction. Just the kind of plot that leaves a reader perplexed and upset in the manner Dan Brown wants to avoid.
How does Holmes solve the mystery? By referring to a painting on the wall of Baskerville Hall, which makes clear what really happened. No one, including the narrator Dr. Watson, had paid attention to the picture, otherwise they too would’ve solved the mystery. The reader doesn't even know of the picture's existence until Holmes tells Watson to take a look at it, after he has declared who the bad guy was.
That’s cheating.
The Russian playwright Anton Chekhov said that if a gun is brandished in Act I, it must be fired in Act III.
Let’s switch that about and make a rule for thrillers: If a gun is fired in Act III, let the reader see someone brandish it in Act I.
March 25, 2014
If you read only one Lee Child thriller, read '61 Hours'
Child’s evocation of the Dakota winter shows how well he writes
Lee Child is justly famous for creating a compelling main character in the loner Jack Reacher and for building plots that turn the pages for you -- and fast.
In 61 Hours Lee Child shows how well he can create an atmosphere and a location. The frozen tundra of Dakota is the setting and it’s almost a character in the plot. After I read 61 Hours I went back to some other Child novels and saw that he had written just as strongly about the often lonely locales of Nebraska and Indiana in other Reacher books. But it hadn’t struck me quite as forcefully as the chilly reaches of Dakota. Still it was there and it demonstrates the quality of Child’s work.
It also highlights the deftness of Child's writing in general. Reviewers write about Child as the ultimate page-turner. It's a guilty pleasure, writes one chap in The Guardian, that comes out in conversation only when you realize that others are addicted.
I don't see it that way, and 61 Hours demonstrates why. Page-turner, I think, implies that the writing doesn't get in the way. It doesn't make you pause to think: "What does the writer mean by this phrase?" Yet without bogging down in too much description, Child creates a visceral sense of the Dakota winter.
In fact the sense of place in Child's books is at least as strong as the sense of Reacher as a character. Often the titles of Child's novels are a bit forgettable (though '61 Hours' is memorable because it relates to something specific within the plot). So the way I remember them is, "Oh, that's the one that takes place in Boston and in a remote spot in Maine." You see, the anchor is the place.
Perhaps that's because Child is a Brit living in America. Maybe it gives him a heightened awareness of place.
All the Jack Reacher books are wonderful. Which is your favorite? Let me know.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
Read more If you read only one... For the indispensable book by each big thriller writer.
Lee Child is justly famous for creating a compelling main character in the loner Jack Reacher and for building plots that turn the pages for you -- and fast.
In 61 Hours Lee Child shows how well he can create an atmosphere and a location. The frozen tundra of Dakota is the setting and it’s almost a character in the plot. After I read 61 Hours I went back to some other Child novels and saw that he had written just as strongly about the often lonely locales of Nebraska and Indiana in other Reacher books. But it hadn’t struck me quite as forcefully as the chilly reaches of Dakota. Still it was there and it demonstrates the quality of Child’s work.
It also highlights the deftness of Child's writing in general. Reviewers write about Child as the ultimate page-turner. It's a guilty pleasure, writes one chap in The Guardian, that comes out in conversation only when you realize that others are addicted.I don't see it that way, and 61 Hours demonstrates why. Page-turner, I think, implies that the writing doesn't get in the way. It doesn't make you pause to think: "What does the writer mean by this phrase?" Yet without bogging down in too much description, Child creates a visceral sense of the Dakota winter.
In fact the sense of place in Child's books is at least as strong as the sense of Reacher as a character. Often the titles of Child's novels are a bit forgettable (though '61 Hours' is memorable because it relates to something specific within the plot). So the way I remember them is, "Oh, that's the one that takes place in Boston and in a remote spot in Maine." You see, the anchor is the place.
Perhaps that's because Child is a Brit living in America. Maybe it gives him a heightened awareness of place.
All the Jack Reacher books are wonderful. Which is your favorite? Let me know.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
Read more If you read only one... For the indispensable book by each big thriller writer.
March 23, 2014
Dead Every Day: Pt 7 of the exclusive podcast thriller
The seventh installment of the FREE crime thriller in serial form. Award-winning crime novelist Matt Rees reads his psychological thriller DEAD EVERY DAY. Set in Iraq and New York, it's the story of Ellis Callan, a former Marine and history professor, stricken by post-traumatic stress disorder and caught up in a mystery surrounding the murders of three women around him. In this installment Callan returns from a trip to be confronted by homicide detectives. A bad girl, a bad pill, and you're Dead Every Day. Get Matt's FREE ebook too.Get the Podcast: Download the MP3
Subscribe on iTunes
Listen on Stitcher.
Wherever you listen, don't forget to rate the podcast and leave a comment!
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
March 20, 2014
Write a thriller: Know the plot's destination before you start
Figure out the end of the novel before you start to write
The great thriller writer Joseph Finder told me that figuring out the end of the novel is a key to getting started. “Gotta know the destination,” he said. (More from Joseph on plot.)
Take a look at my diagram of the outline for a thriller (You've seen it before). The two pieces I fill in first are the Set Up in Act I and the Payoff in Act III, where the hero prevents whatever the bad guy aims to do.
Why do it that way? Because you gotta know the destination before you start on the journey. If you don’t, you’ll meander. That nice rising diagonal line across the diagram will droop and zig zag -- and that means losing momentum. You’ll waste a lot of energy going in the wrong direction. That’s how novelists get deflated and novels get dropped. Plot those two elements first and the rest is just a matter of connecting two dots.
By the way, if you haven't read Joseph Finder, my favorites are Paranoia and Killer Instinct. Looking at the plot diagram, both of those novels have a great set-up and a knockout payoff.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
The great thriller writer Joseph Finder told me that figuring out the end of the novel is a key to getting started. “Gotta know the destination,” he said. (More from Joseph on plot.)Take a look at my diagram of the outline for a thriller (You've seen it before). The two pieces I fill in first are the Set Up in Act I and the Payoff in Act III, where the hero prevents whatever the bad guy aims to do.
Why do it that way? Because you gotta know the destination before you start on the journey. If you don’t, you’ll meander. That nice rising diagonal line across the diagram will droop and zig zag -- and that means losing momentum. You’ll waste a lot of energy going in the wrong direction. That’s how novelists get deflated and novels get dropped. Plot those two elements first and the rest is just a matter of connecting two dots.
By the way, if you haven't read Joseph Finder, my favorites are Paranoia and Killer Instinct. Looking at the plot diagram, both of those novels have a great set-up and a knockout payoff.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
March 19, 2014
Dead Every Day: Pt 6 of the exclusive podcast thriller
The sixth installment of a FREE crime thriller in serial form. Matt Rees reads his psychological thriller DEAD EVERY DAY. Set in Iraq and New York, it's the story of Ellis Callan, a former Marine and history professor, stricken by post-traumatic stress disorder and caught up in a mystery surrounding the murders of three women around him. In this installment Callan discovers that his girlfriend has a shocking secret in her past. A bad girl, a bad pill, and you're Dead Every Day. Get Matt's FREE ebook too.Get the Podcast: Download the MP3
Subscribe on iTunes
Listen on Stitcher.
Wherever you listen, don't forget to rate the podcast and leave a comment!
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
March 18, 2014
The 21 SEXIEST Crime Novelists
Killer good looks from writers who kill in their books
Crime novelists are the sexiest writers. Of course writers aren't noted for sexiness. Go to a reading by a "literary novelist" and you'll either encounter an author who looks like a fat, drunk librarian or a pallid fifteenth-century inquisitor. But when you go to a reading by a thriller writer, the movies that're developed from their books create an expectation that a male writer will be rugged and handsome like an action star and a female writer will be slinky and knowing like a thriller femme fatale. And some of them are. Here's the list of the 21 sexiest writers in crime fiction, the sexiest genre in all literature.
Helen Fitzgerald
Paragraph one of her Dead Lovely: “My best friend Sarah was asleep. Her husband was lying beside her, and I was swallowing his semen.” You can hear Helen's sexy Australian accent talking about a woman's orgasms on a song I wrote about one of her books.
Gregg Hurwitz
Tall and athletic, a soccer player who also dedicates a novel to how cute his little daughters are. What's not to love? Also happens to have written the most explosive opening of any recent thriller in Trust No One.
Jasmine Schwartz
Her Melissa Morris mysteries are loaded with sexual tension, seduction, and irritable bowel syndrome. Fakakt is my favorite. The title means "Fucked" in Yiddish. A real hottie. Yeah, I'm biased -- she's my wife.
James Thompson
Corruption, sex-trafficking, and a hero with a nasty, violent streak. James Thompson is Stieg Larsson with balls, a Finnish residency permit, and a tattoo. Read Helsinki Blood.
Zoe Ferraris
You had me at "Ferraris." There's also the pic on her website of Zoe in the black hijab she wore when she lived in Saudi Arabia. Living in the Middle East I've always found the fully covered lady mysterious and alluring. Finding Nouf is a beautiful novel that even makes Saudi sexy.
Barry Eisler
Look at that hair! A former CIA operative and judo black belt. Start with A Clean Kill in Tokyo, the first of his books about anti-hero John Rain.
Megan Abbott
The thinking man's crime fiction crumpet, the naughty ingenue of noir with a PhD in English and American literature. The Song is You is steamy and tense.
Philip Sington
My pick to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. Born to a British intelligence officer and an industrial chemist, tall, sophisticated, sweet, and cosmopolitan (married to a German.) The Valley of Unknowing is about a womanizer. That certainly could be considered sexy.
Tess Gerritsen
The self-confessed intense tiger-mommy of crime fiction also has undeniable sex appeal. The Silent Girl is a gripping story of secrets that haunt several lives, and what's more sexy than a secret?
Camilla Lackberg
The kind of looks that made Sweden famous for...You know what it's famous for. One of her books includes a corpse found in the tub, so Camilla posted a nice pic of herself in a bubble bath with shapely leg extended. I rushed to order The Ice Princess, of course. Which is, like all her others, a thrill.
Zoe Sharpe
Motorbikes and handguns and blonde hair. Okay, you're on the list. Her self-sufficient, irascible heroine Charlie Fox is at her best in Die Easy.
Robert Crais
A tough-guy squint and a Batman jaw gets L.A. bestseller Crais onto the list. He lives with his wife and their cats. But I won't kick him off the list for that. My favorite of his Elvis Cole novels is Stalking the Angel.
Caro Ramsay
A lovely Glasgow accent and a nice authorial turn in disemboweling and other gruesomenesses. Caro's a medical professional. She's like Patricia Cornwell without the private helicopter but with more atmosphere.
Christopher G. Moore
An urbane expat at home in the fleshpots of Thailand like his hero Vincent Calvino, Chris has a decency and worldliness that's in itself reminiscent of some of the great noir heroes.
Christa Faust
A former dominatrix, Christa has one of the most flesh-filled author pages on Facebook, often featuring her tattoos. I like the pulpishness of her Money Shot and I'm looking forward to reading her newest Butch Fatale, Dyke Dick
Ian Rankin
Dark and stubbly and candid with a taste for raucous rock. His Inspector Rebus novel Strip Jack has some pleasantly sexy naughtiness.
Alafair Burke
Her 212 is an investigation of internet prurience (a bit like this list) with a thrilling conclusion. A law professor, Alafair is the thinking man's crime writing crumpet (unless the thinking man is still thinking of Megan Abbott -- see above.)
Rebecca Cantrell
A great series set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. Cool enough to have written novels specifically for reading on cellphones, iDracula and iFrankenstein.
Jason Goodwin
The thinking woman's crime fiction crumpet (the thinking man is still busy thinking about Alafair and Megan). A Cambridge University student of Byzantine history (hence his Inspector Yashim novels) with the look of a rumpled English gent.
Gillian Flynn
Truly sexy, and not only for eviscerating marriage in Gone Girl. Wins the prize for best cheekbones on the Sexiest Crime Novelists list.
Laura Lippman
Even if her #itsokkimnovak selfie hadn't illustrated that we focus too much on youth in women, she'd be on the list. Of course that selfie only made her sexier. My favorite of hers is What The Dead Know.
Did I forget your favorite? Comment to let me know if I overlooked the hunkiest mystery writer who ever scribbled his pen across your title page after a late night reading....
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
Crime novelists are the sexiest writers. Of course writers aren't noted for sexiness. Go to a reading by a "literary novelist" and you'll either encounter an author who looks like a fat, drunk librarian or a pallid fifteenth-century inquisitor. But when you go to a reading by a thriller writer, the movies that're developed from their books create an expectation that a male writer will be rugged and handsome like an action star and a female writer will be slinky and knowing like a thriller femme fatale. And some of them are. Here's the list of the 21 sexiest writers in crime fiction, the sexiest genre in all literature.
Helen FitzgeraldParagraph one of her Dead Lovely: “My best friend Sarah was asleep. Her husband was lying beside her, and I was swallowing his semen.” You can hear Helen's sexy Australian accent talking about a woman's orgasms on a song I wrote about one of her books.
Gregg HurwitzTall and athletic, a soccer player who also dedicates a novel to how cute his little daughters are. What's not to love? Also happens to have written the most explosive opening of any recent thriller in Trust No One.
Jasmine Schwartz
Her Melissa Morris mysteries are loaded with sexual tension, seduction, and irritable bowel syndrome. Fakakt is my favorite. The title means "Fucked" in Yiddish. A real hottie. Yeah, I'm biased -- she's my wife.
James ThompsonCorruption, sex-trafficking, and a hero with a nasty, violent streak. James Thompson is Stieg Larsson with balls, a Finnish residency permit, and a tattoo. Read Helsinki Blood.
Zoe FerrarisYou had me at "Ferraris." There's also the pic on her website of Zoe in the black hijab she wore when she lived in Saudi Arabia. Living in the Middle East I've always found the fully covered lady mysterious and alluring. Finding Nouf is a beautiful novel that even makes Saudi sexy.
Barry EislerLook at that hair! A former CIA operative and judo black belt. Start with A Clean Kill in Tokyo, the first of his books about anti-hero John Rain.
Megan AbbottThe thinking man's crime fiction crumpet, the naughty ingenue of noir with a PhD in English and American literature. The Song is You is steamy and tense.
Philip SingtonMy pick to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. Born to a British intelligence officer and an industrial chemist, tall, sophisticated, sweet, and cosmopolitan (married to a German.) The Valley of Unknowing is about a womanizer. That certainly could be considered sexy.
Tess GerritsenThe self-confessed intense tiger-mommy of crime fiction also has undeniable sex appeal. The Silent Girl is a gripping story of secrets that haunt several lives, and what's more sexy than a secret?
Camilla LackbergThe kind of looks that made Sweden famous for...You know what it's famous for. One of her books includes a corpse found in the tub, so Camilla posted a nice pic of herself in a bubble bath with shapely leg extended. I rushed to order The Ice Princess, of course. Which is, like all her others, a thrill.
Zoe SharpeMotorbikes and handguns and blonde hair. Okay, you're on the list. Her self-sufficient, irascible heroine Charlie Fox is at her best in Die Easy.
Robert CraisA tough-guy squint and a Batman jaw gets L.A. bestseller Crais onto the list. He lives with his wife and their cats. But I won't kick him off the list for that. My favorite of his Elvis Cole novels is Stalking the Angel.
Caro RamsayA lovely Glasgow accent and a nice authorial turn in disemboweling and other gruesomenesses. Caro's a medical professional. She's like Patricia Cornwell without the private helicopter but with more atmosphere.
Christopher G. MooreAn urbane expat at home in the fleshpots of Thailand like his hero Vincent Calvino, Chris has a decency and worldliness that's in itself reminiscent of some of the great noir heroes.
Christa FaustA former dominatrix, Christa has one of the most flesh-filled author pages on Facebook, often featuring her tattoos. I like the pulpishness of her Money Shot and I'm looking forward to reading her newest Butch Fatale, Dyke Dick
Ian RankinDark and stubbly and candid with a taste for raucous rock. His Inspector Rebus novel Strip Jack has some pleasantly sexy naughtiness.
Alafair BurkeHer 212 is an investigation of internet prurience (a bit like this list) with a thrilling conclusion. A law professor, Alafair is the thinking man's crime writing crumpet (unless the thinking man is still thinking of Megan Abbott -- see above.)
Rebecca CantrellA great series set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. Cool enough to have written novels specifically for reading on cellphones, iDracula and iFrankenstein.
Jason GoodwinThe thinking woman's crime fiction crumpet (the thinking man is still busy thinking about Alafair and Megan). A Cambridge University student of Byzantine history (hence his Inspector Yashim novels) with the look of a rumpled English gent.
Gillian FlynnTruly sexy, and not only for eviscerating marriage in Gone Girl. Wins the prize for best cheekbones on the Sexiest Crime Novelists list.
Laura LippmanEven if her #itsokkimnovak selfie hadn't illustrated that we focus too much on youth in women, she'd be on the list. Of course that selfie only made her sexier. My favorite of hers is What The Dead Know.
Did I forget your favorite? Comment to let me know if I overlooked the hunkiest mystery writer who ever scribbled his pen across your title page after a late night reading....
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
March 17, 2014
If you read only one Martin Cruz Smith, read Polar Star
Isolated on an arctic ship, Cruz Smith’s detective is even more heroic
What? If you read only one thriller by Martin Cruz Smith, it's not Gorky Park, one of the biggest hit thrillers of the last 40 years and the basis of that great movie with William Hurt? No, not even one of Martin Cruz Smith’s books set in Moscow. Polar Star is the Cruz Smith novel with the greatest tension and the biggest challenges to his hero, Arkady Renko.
After Gorky Park, Renko goes into self-imposed exile gutting fish in the frozen Arctic Ocean. On the creaking Polar Star he uncovers a murder that becomes a bigger conspiracy. By putting Renko on the isolated ship, Cruz Smith highlights his heroic and honorable qualities. The same traits he showed in Gorky Park and which have carried him marvelously through six subsequent novels.
Cruz Smith has some wonderful Renko novels. Which is your favorite? Let me know.
Click to get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
What? If you read only one thriller by Martin Cruz Smith, it's not Gorky Park, one of the biggest hit thrillers of the last 40 years and the basis of that great movie with William Hurt? No, not even one of Martin Cruz Smith’s books set in Moscow. Polar Star is the Cruz Smith novel with the greatest tension and the biggest challenges to his hero, Arkady Renko.
After Gorky Park, Renko goes into self-imposed exile gutting fish in the frozen Arctic Ocean. On the creaking Polar Star he uncovers a murder that becomes a bigger conspiracy. By putting Renko on the isolated ship, Cruz Smith highlights his heroic and honorable qualities. The same traits he showed in Gorky Park and which have carried him marvelously through six subsequent novels.Cruz Smith has some wonderful Renko novels. Which is your favorite? Let me know.
Click to get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
Tomorrow: the 21 SEXIEST crime novelists
Looks and books that kill. An umissable, sexy list coming tomorrow
Tomorrow on mattrees.net, I'll be unveiling the 21 Sexiest Crime Novelists list. Who'll make the list? There's lobbying for the lovely Gillian Flynn. If your taste is in tall and chiselled features, perhaps Lee Child is your man. Let me know which of your favorite thriller writers should get billing.
Meanwhile, click to get an ebook of my crime stories FREE.
Tomorrow on mattrees.net, I'll be unveiling the 21 Sexiest Crime Novelists list. Who'll make the list? There's lobbying for the lovely Gillian Flynn. If your taste is in tall and chiselled features, perhaps Lee Child is your man. Let me know which of your favorite thriller writers should get billing.
Meanwhile, click to get an ebook of my crime stories FREE.
March 15, 2014
This week: the 21 SEXIEST CRIME NOVELISTS list
Looks and books that kill. An umissable, sexy list coming this week
You've salivated over Maxim's Hot 100 of the world's sexiest women. You've wondered what half the guys on People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive list actually do. Now turn your attention to the hottest writers in crime fiction.
This Tuesday on mattrees.net, I'll be unveiling the 21 Sexiest Crime Novelists list. Who'll make the list? Let me know which of your favorite thriller writers should get billing.
Meanwhile, click to get an ebook of my crime stories FREE. (A clue: I'm not putting myself on the Sexiest list because, as you see, I'm going cheap.)
You've salivated over Maxim's Hot 100 of the world's sexiest women. You've wondered what half the guys on People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive list actually do. Now turn your attention to the hottest writers in crime fiction.
This Tuesday on mattrees.net, I'll be unveiling the 21 Sexiest Crime Novelists list. Who'll make the list? Let me know which of your favorite thriller writers should get billing.
Meanwhile, click to get an ebook of my crime stories FREE. (A clue: I'm not putting myself on the Sexiest list because, as you see, I'm going cheap.)
March 13, 2014
Write a thriller: How Don Winslow propels a plot around its Midpoint
The key to the pace of a thriller lies in the Midpoint
The Midpoint is a plot point that lies, of course, at the halfway point of the book. What does it do? It propels the hero out of the first part of Act II, where s/he has been encountering new signs of the bad guys and their dirty dealings. It shoots the hero into the breakneck action of the second part of Act II, where the bad guys close in on the hero, trouble piles up on the hero, and it looks as though s/he is going to lose.
How do you create a good Midpoint? A couple of tips:
Kill someone to add a heightened element of danger and a new impetus for the hero's chase
Introduce a new character whose presence adds to the danger
Change the nature of the threat to the hero dramatically
The king of the threat-change is Don Winslow. Read his fabulous Satori for an example that'll take your breath away.
Without giving too much away, the reader spends the first half of Satori thinking the hero has to do a particular thing, after which he'll be safe. Instead, at the Midpoint of Satori, Winslow delivers a plot-point double punch. The hero accomplishes that particular thing -- at great risk and with much tension. Only to discover immediately that he has been betrayed. For the rest of the book, he faces entirely new risks. The reader experiences the same sudden shift and confusion as the hero. That means, tension. Which is a good thing in a thriller.
The show 24 does this too. Ever noticed how Jack Bauer is fighting one lot of bad guys for the first 12 hours, only to realize half way through the season that the real bad guy is someone completely different with an entirely different plan?
Works, doesn't it?
Don't forget to get my FREE ebook. It's packed with original, exclusive crime stories.
The Midpoint is a plot point that lies, of course, at the halfway point of the book. What does it do? It propels the hero out of the first part of Act II, where s/he has been encountering new signs of the bad guys and their dirty dealings. It shoots the hero into the breakneck action of the second part of Act II, where the bad guys close in on the hero, trouble piles up on the hero, and it looks as though s/he is going to lose.How do you create a good Midpoint? A couple of tips:
Kill someone to add a heightened element of danger and a new impetus for the hero's chase
Introduce a new character whose presence adds to the danger
Change the nature of the threat to the hero dramatically
The king of the threat-change is Don Winslow. Read his fabulous Satori for an example that'll take your breath away.Without giving too much away, the reader spends the first half of Satori thinking the hero has to do a particular thing, after which he'll be safe. Instead, at the Midpoint of Satori, Winslow delivers a plot-point double punch. The hero accomplishes that particular thing -- at great risk and with much tension. Only to discover immediately that he has been betrayed. For the rest of the book, he faces entirely new risks. The reader experiences the same sudden shift and confusion as the hero. That means, tension. Which is a good thing in a thriller.
The show 24 does this too. Ever noticed how Jack Bauer is fighting one lot of bad guys for the first 12 hours, only to realize half way through the season that the real bad guy is someone completely different with an entirely different plan?Works, doesn't it?
Don't forget to get my FREE ebook. It's packed with original, exclusive crime stories.
