the writing workbench

Moving the Plot

A character wants something, something concrete in the here-and-now. Will he get it? There are four possible outcomes: "Yes," "No," "No, and furthermore," and "Yes, but." The first two outcomes do absolutely nothing to move the plot. ... The "no, and furthermore" answer is one of the two outcomes that will move the story and fill the middle of your suspense novel with ever-deepening complications. Whatever your characters do in the middle of the book should not only fail, it should fail in such a way that it makes their situations actively worse than they were before. - How to Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat

Scene Development for the Suspense Writer

An easy, time-honored way to add suspense is to cross-cut between scenes involving the hero in peril and other scenes.

In the first place, scences happen in real time. ... Second, scenes involve conflict. ... That's the inexorable math of Story: no character can possibly come through Story unscatched. ... Every single scene in the book must start from a position of wanting.

At the end of every scene in the book, bar none, the protagonist must experience some change, for better or worse. Worse is better. ... Because when things get worse, when the protagonist fails to get what he wants, he is forced to do something else. Something that propels him into more dangerous waters. ... But none of that can happen unless she wants something at the beginning of the scene--a scene goal that the reader understands from the outset. ... What does the suspense hero want as a scene goal? To understand what's happening to him. To enlist official help in tracking down the bad guys. To have someone believe her. To get a passport or a ticket to Hong Kong ... It doesn't matter exactly what she wants so long as the reader understands what she wants and why she wants it and it relates in some way to the novel's big goal. - How to Write Killer Fiction by Carolyn Wheat