Thrillers & Technothrillers - Writers League...
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Thrillers & Technothrillers Subgenres Three-Act Play Typical multi-stage plotline How are thrillers different? Exotic Locations Technothriller challenges Unfamiliar Technologies
Transcript of Thrillers & Technothrillers - Writers League...
Thrillers & Technothrillers
Subgenres
Three-Act Play
Typical multi-stage plotline
How are thrillers different?
Exotic Locations
Technothriller challenges
Unfamiliar Technologies
Thriller / Suspense
MercenaryMysteryPoliticalPsychologicalReligiousRomantic Spy/EspionageSupernatural/ParanormalSurvivalistTechnothrillerTreasure Hunter
ActionAviationCrimeComedicConspiracyDisaster Eco-thrillerExplorationForensicLegalMedical
Subgenres
• Focus on solving a life or death problem• Conflict & confrontation• High level of anticipation and suspense• Keep the reader alert, on the edge of their seat
Gary Kurtz, producer of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back in an LA Times
interview
"I took a master class with Billy Wilder once and he said that:
In the first act of a story you put your character up in a tree
And the second act you set the tree on fire
And then in the third you get him down.“
Three Act Play
Multi-Stage Plot Line
Opening
NormalRoutine
IncitingIncident
RisingAction
FirstClimax
EverythingChanges
NewObstacle
PenultimateClimax
FinalObstacle
BigClimax
Dénouement
FinalTwist
(optional)
EndMultipleStages
How are Thrillers Different?Opening chapter / paragraph:• Jump into action immediatelyPlotline:• Leap to inciting incident quickly• Action-driven (intense, non-stop)• Big climax requiredCharacters:• Strong motivations (protagonist & antagonist)• In personal danger• Extreme action results in significant character arcs• Make reactions raw & realistic (crude if appropriate)Conflict:• More extreme, scary, violent• Action scenes in real-time - major characters’ POV• Shorter quiet periods• “Kill your darlings” – screw up the life of the protagonists• End most chapters (and scenes) with a “hook”
Experience Exotic Locations
Technothriller ChallengesAccessible to wide audience:• Emphasize real-world consequences – vividly• Minimize explanation of details – VERY IMPORTANT• Just enough detail to sound authentic• Remember some readers know the technology• Credibility – even when not practical today
Avoid deus ex machina• Solutions to difficult problems must be realistic• Little Red Riding Hood – the woodcutter• Avoid sudden introduction of character or technology• If this is critical, lay the groundwork earlier (don’t cheat the reader)
Unfamiliar Technologies
Plutonium in Glovebox
Bomb-Sniffing Bees
Octocopter
Available on Amazon:- Kindle & Unlimited- Paperback
Also in Barnes & Noble
2018 Release Planned
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