Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense (29 page)

We now enter Act Two. Starling is in the “dark world” of a real case, a notorious case, where innocent lives are on the line with every passing moment. One of those lives belongs to the daughter of a U.S. Senator.

We won’t go through all the beats of Act Two. It’s a series of scenes with organic unity. Clarice Starling trying to identify and eventually capture Buffalo Bill. Obstacles faced, actions taken to overcome the obstacles, setbacks and clues.

One of those actions is going back to see Lecter. He can help her, but he wants something in return. He wants to be transferred to another institution, and he wants a view from his prison cell.

He will give Clarice only bits of information until he gets his way.

She strikes a deal, but there will be a betrayal that upsets Dr. Lecter. He is not someone you should upset.

The second doorway of no return makes possible the final battle of the ending. It’s a crisis or setback, clue or discovery.

Clarice is on the hunt for Buffalo Bill. But she’s been officially taken off the case. That setback doesn’t stop her. She has been interacting with Lecter and her mind keeps working.

There is a ticking clock—the likely death of Buffalo Bill’s latest victim, Catherine Martin, the Senator’s daughter. It’s probably just a matter of hours now.

Clarice has been given a bit of cryptic information from Lecter. He has suggested that Buffalo Bill
covets
, and that we covet what we see every day.

This proves to be the key clue, the doorway through which Clarice will pass so she can ultimately save Catherine Martin.

The clue causes Clarice to examine the background of Buffalo Bill’s first victim, Frederica Bimmel. She reasons that he must have been seeing her, perhaps each day, until he finally decided to kill her.

Starling follows up. She goes to Frederica’s house and examines her room, and finds out Frederica sewed her own clothes.

That discovery matches, in Clarice’s mind, the observations she made of another victim, Kimberly Emberg, and the mystery of why patches of skin had been removed from her.

This gives Clarice a eureka moment: Buffalo Bill is sewing the skins of his victims together.

This, in turn, leads her to question a friend of Frederica’s, who references a clothing store in town. The owner of the store has died, but Clarice goes to the store owner’s family home to get more information.

The home is where the killer, Jame Gumb, is holed up.

Clarice doesn’t know this when she first enters, but when a moth scurries into view (that being a key M.O. of the killer) she knows she’s in the right place.

Which leads to the showdown with Gumb.

She kills him and saves Catherine.

Clarice has overcome professional death. In fact, she’s moved on to a new level. Jack Crawford tells her, “Starling, I’m proud of you. So is Brigham, so is the Director.”

Throughout Clarice had been haunted by a dream, a dream of lambs screaming when being slaughtered. Lecter posits to her at one point that she must think if she catches Buffalo Bill, and saves Catherine, the screaming will be silenced. Clarice admits as much.

The last line:

action, 94–99

in the middle, 92–93

stretching, 203–206

and style, 108–110

Adams, Douglas, 77, 119

adjectives, 224

adverbs, 224–225

agendas, opposing, 148

anticipation, 243

antiheroes, 36–37

Ash & Bone
, 132–133, 136

Atlas Shrugged
, 159, 164, 184

audiobooks, listening to, 173

backstory, 83, 90–91, 131–134, 147

bad guys.
See
villains

beginnings, 66–70, 178

Bickham, Jack, 157, 221

bonding agents, 50–52

Bradbury, Ray, 28, 105, 173, 208

brainstorming, 16–32

capacity, removing, 245–246

Casablanca
, 36–37, 52, 58–60, 150–154

Catcher in the Rye, The
, 12, 78, 94

Chandler, Raymond, 89, 159, 163, 186, 197

characters, 54–55.
See also
backstory; leads

background of, 39–40

character grids, 56–57

flaws in, 44

main, 34–37

minor, 238–240

occupation of, 39

opposition characters, 48–50, 246

revising, 174–176

strength of will in, 44

Childs, Lee, 203–204, 210–211

cinematic technique, 21, 106–108

clichés, avoiding, 145, 217–220

cliff-hangers, 195–201

dialogue, 199–200

emotional, 200

in media res, 200–201

physical, 197–199

Coben, Harlan, 49, 192

concept, 17–19

conflict, 6–7, 23–24

analysis of, 253–261

in dialogue, 144–158

emotional, 15

foundations of, 33–64

inner, 135–143, 257

opening with, 82–91

and point of view, 75–81

structure of, 65–74

and style, 168–173

subplots and, 125–128

in theme of novel, 159–167

tools for, 179–187

confrontation, 47–57, 65, 174–175, 250

Connelly, Michael, 11, 83, 159, 165–166

cover copy, 61–64

crucibles, 50–52

death, 10–15, 253–255, 258

physical, 11, 14

professional, 11, 45, 258

psychological, 12–13, 45–46, 51, 74, 254

description, 224–225

dialogue, 177

in cliff-hangers, 199–200

compressed, 170–171, 210–211

conflict in, 144–158

sidestepping in, 149

stretched, 212–213

and suspense, 210–215

as weapon, 150–156

dictionary game, 31–32

doorways of no return, 256, 260–261

dreams

as inspiration, 20–21

use in novels, 182–184

du Maurier, Daphne, 183–184, 193

emotions, 37, 106, 202, 247–248, 257

and conflict, 15, 136–137

on a roller coaster, 5–6

showing and telling, 140–141

endings, 57–61, 178

knockout, 57–61, 250

resonant, 256–257, 261

Evanovich, Janet, 53–54, 78

exclamation points, 227–228

exposition, 82–85

fear

the essence of scenes, 102–104

of the unknown, 102–103

Field of Darkness, A
, 133, 170–171

Firm, The
, 11, 35, 48, 51

first lines, 30–31

first person point of view, 75–81

flashbacks, 129–131

Fugitive, The
, 45, 48, 50, 71, 94–97

genres, 9–10, 12, 52

“give-a-hoot” factor, 37

Gone With the Wind
, 35, 44, 48, 60, 68, 192–193, 241

Good in Bed
, 22, 206–207

grammar, and suspense, 223–229

Gran Torino
, 35–36

Grisham, John, 1, 11, 63

Guide to Fiction Writing
, 133–134

“guy with a gun”, 186–187

Harris, Thomas, 11, 169, 171, 253

Harvey, John, 132, 136

Heinlein, Robert, 249

heroes, 34–35.
See also
antiheroes; characters, main

Hitchcock, Alfred, 2, 38, 82, 105, 120, 148, 177, 189, 218, 231, 245

I Am Charlotte Simmons
, 27–28

ideas, generating, 16–32

Iles, Greg, 175, 207–208

images, as inspiration, 19–21

information dumps, 89–90

inner thoughts, 247–248

in conflict, 137–140

inner turmoil, 202

inspiration.
See
ideas, generating

intensity, increasing, 233–235

interruptions, 237–238

irrationality, 185–186

issues, as inspiration, 29–30

It’s A Wonderful Life
, 161, 239–240

justifications, 244–245

King, Stephen, 48, 50–51, 137–139, 172, 196, 216–217, 247

King’s Speech, The
, 72–74, 192

Koontz, Dean, 29–30, 69, 104–106, 192, 199, 212–213

L’Engle, Madeleine, 163

leads, 250.
See also
characters, main

negative, 35–36

objectives of, 44–47, 250

positive, 34–35

worth following, 34–44, 253, 257

Lee, Harper, 205, 253.
See also To Kill A Mockingbird

Les Misérables
, 48, 50

Lethal Weapon
, 38, 70

lyrical passages, 87–88

Maass, Donald, 126

Maltese Falcon, The
, 59, 241, 250

man vs. nature stories, 6

microobstacles, 231–232

Mike Hammer novels, 59, 109–110, 154–155

Mitchell, Margaret, 192.
See also
Gone With The Wind

Moonstruck
, 43, 214–215

Morrell, David, 90–91, 107, 222

motion, use of, 177

movie mind.
See
cinematic technique

music, as inspiration, 20

My Sister’s Keeper
, 164–165

mystery

and suspense, 190–191

ongoing, 184–185

narrative voice.
See
point of view

North by Northwest
, 38–39, 120, 218–220

novel journals, 179–182

objectivism, 10

obsession, characters with, 28

obstacles, micro, 231–232

Odd Couple, The
, 12, 51–52, 119

omniscient narration, 76

On the Waterfront
, 71–72, 166

One Lonely Night
, 109–110

opening scenes, 250, 255–257

opposition, 255, 259

opposition characters, 48–50

strengthening, 246

orchestration, 53–54, 145–146, 176

outlines, 33–34

pace, 69

slowing, 207–208

parallel plots, 125–126

parent-adult-child model, 157–158

Parker, Robert B., 102–103

passionate centers, 31

passive voice, 225–226

periods, 226

Plot & Structure
, 7

plots.
See also
subplots

character-driven, 70–74

plot-driven, 70–72

updating old, 29

poetry, reading, 173

point of view, 75–81, 88–89

preaching, avoiding, 163–164

Prince of Tides, The
, 108–109

protagonists.
See
characters, main; heroes

Protector, The
, 107–108

questions, knowing, 162–163, 182

quotation marks, 228

Rand, Ayn, 10, 159, 164, 184

rants, 163–166

reactions, 97–98

Read, Cornelia, 133, 170–171

Rear Window
, 245–246

Rebecca
, 183–184, 193, 241

redemption, 35–36

revision, 174–178

Revision & Self-Editing
, 7, 42, 157, 174

rhythms, varying, 170–172

Rose Madder
, 50–51, 137–139

sacrifice, 58–60

scenes

action scenes, 94–95, 109–110

brainstorming for, 250–251

chase scenes, 111–113

comedic scenes, 119–122

cutting, 178

developing, 251

fight scenes, 113–116

love scenes, 117–119

openings for, 100–101

overdrive scenes, 176

revision of, 177–178

romantic scenes, 117–119

selection of, 251

setup scenes, 116–117

sit-down scenes, 122–124

structure of, 259–260

types of, 111–124

second person point of view, 75

Seidler, David, 192.
See also
The King’s Speech

semicolons, 226–227

sentences

compressed, 170–171

short, 226

varying, 229

settings, 21–25

historical, 26–27

social, 27–28

and suspense, 216–220

sidestepping, 149

Silence of the Lambs, The
, 11, 35, 45, 169, 253, 257–261

Simon, Danny, 120

Spillane, Mickey, 57, 109–110, 154–155

Star Wars
, 35, 68, 71, 241

Stephanie Plum novels, 53–54, 78

stimulus-response transactions, 221–223

story world, 25–28

style

as action, 108–110

and conflict, 168–173

and suspense, 221–229

subplots, 125–128

subtext, 147

suspense, 6–7, 189–194

in dialogue, 210–215

hypersuspense, 193–194

livid, 230–248

macro, 191–192

paragraph, 194

scene, 192–193

in setting, 216–220

and style, 221–229

Swain, Dwight V., 196

symbolism, 166–167

sympathy factor, 49

Techniques of the Selling Writer
, 196

tension, stretching, 202–210

theme, of novel, 147

conflict in, 159–167

“Theology of Harry Potter, The”, 162

third person point of view, 75–81

unlimited, 80

Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks, 162

time, and suspense, 235–236

To Kill A Mockingbird
, 44, 68, 70, 102, 205, 253–257

tone, 9, 78, 106

tragedy, 9, 13

Try Darkness
, 116–117, 185–186

Try Dying
, 18, 114–115

24 Hours
, 175, 207–208

twists, 240–245.
See also
unexpected revelations

unexpected revelations.
See also
twists

in dialogue, 213–215

in endings, 60

Velocity
, 192, 212–213

very
, careful use of, 225

villains, 48–50

visual images, 19–21

voice, 88–89, 168–173

importance of, 164–166

passive, 225–226

voice journals, 46–47, 146, 166

Vonnegut, Kurt, 226

Watch Your Back
, 13, 111–113

Weiner, Jennifer, 23, 206–207

Whispers
, 104–106

Whitney, Phyllis, 133–134

Wizard of Oz, The
, 70–71, 85, 161

words, selection of, 172–173

Worth Dying For,
203–204, 210–211

Writer’s Digest
, 1, 49

Writing and Selling Your Novel
, 221

Writing Novels That Sell
, 157

Writing the Breakout Novel
, 126

yearning, of main character, 40–42