Last month I finished
taking a course titled “Mystery and Thriller Structure by instructor, Kris Neri.
Since I’m starting a new WIP, the course applied to me and the timing couldn’t
have been better. After finishing Kris’s course, I highly recommend it. But let
me explain the methods I’ve used in the past.
The first two novels I wrote using the pantser method. As
most of you know, the term “pantser” refers to writers who write by the seat of
their pants, starting with a blank page. Some writers swear by the method—if
they knew who the villain was they’d be bored with their story before they
wrote it, I’ve heard before. Having written two novels using this method, I
don’t recommend it. Neither of my novels were messes, but I didn’t feel good
about the process. Using the pantser method seemed chaotic to me. I felt out of
control.
I chose a combination method of pantser and what I deem
“planned,” when I wrote my third WIP. To
do so, I wrote a storyboard for each chapter, including the facts of the case to
be presented and what had to be accomplished by each character. The backstory,
character development and subplot complications I included via pantser method. This
method was better, but I knew I needed help.
Kris’s course put into words and forced me to create what I
knew was lacking in my own methods. The entire novel is considered. The plots
and subplots are all planned prior to typing a word on the page. Triggers and
plot points move the scenes. Although we weren’t required to do so, I created a
detailed outline and timeline including the evidence, the characters’ roles in
the plot and subplots, how the crime is solved by which characters and the
backstory of each character that impacts the plot. Character development is not
covered in the course or techniques for creating settings. But those elements
can and should be added. All are set within the backdrop of the three-act
structure and the proportions of the book that should be devoted to each act.
For our assignments, I wrote the synopsis and backstory of
the main characters including the villain. These helped in planning because
they forced me to think about my story in its entirety including character arc,
which I can carry over to a next book.
I remember while using the pantser method in my first two
WIPs that I kept switching the identity of the murderer. It was a surprise—the
problem was that while it should surprise the reader, I no longer think it
should surprise the writer. Elements must be built into the plot giving clues
to the villain’s identity. Otherwise, solving the crime seems implausible or solved
by a fluke. Knowing the identity of the villain, his relationship to the victim
and what triggered the murder induces the writer to consider the timing of the
protagonist’s story (and the plot points in the character’s story which propel
the scenes) to that of the villain’s and victim’s story, and it is that story
that the writer reveals.
Planning my next WIP
using the techniques that Kris teaches has put me in control. I know what motivates
my protagonist and that has changed my writing from plot driven to character
driven, which I think strengthens my writing considerably. If you ever have the
chance to take the course, do so. But Kris may not be teaching often. Her
current script MAGICAL
ALIENATION was a finalist in the New Mexico & Arizona Book Awards in the
sci fi/fantasy category. In Kris’s case, she teaches what she does.
