McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Anyone have good tips on writing a Conspiracy Thriller?
Paynesgrey:
Lol. There is that, isn't there? Of course, that's what makes a smart author a better read than a not-so-smart author.
Blaze:
You hit the nail on the head.
meg_evonne:
Sorry I was so snarky in my first reply. Blaze has it right.
Start out with your conspiracy base line plot (what is the bad guy's plan) and then shade in how the protaganist is going to weave in and out. That's probably the best plan.
The more intricate, well thought out, logical, devious--but only when it really furthers the baddies' plot, the better the hero will be.
So start with a solid evil plot, with really interesting intelligent bad guys with motivation*--once it's iron clad and logical, then start foiling the attempt. Does that make sense? The additional shading would come from how the bad guys adapt to the hero's foils.
I'm currently working on a DaVinci Code for young adult, which I hope to have in someone's hands by April 15th. It's thrilling and exciting. That's how I came up with it. Once your mind is working in a conspiracy fashion then it's a matter of figuring out how the hero pulls it apart to get the end mind-blowing last confrontation.
*don't overlook that the first motivation is never a single motivation but several. The bad guys will each have their own motivations for being involved. PLUS the best twist is when we find out a secret motivation of the main bad guy, who has kept the motivation secret from his own left hand person. --Those are the ones where only the psychopathic readers understand the psychopathic motivation (uhm think Hannibal Lecher) OR some classic books of this type--the motivation seems sound, but even the main bad guy doesn't understand his/her own unknown deep seated psychological motivation for doing the deed...
Or another twist, 3/4s of the way through the bad guys (or one bad guy) realize(s) that their motivations are diverging from each other. So a hero vs bad guy, becomes a complicated mesh of hero vs bad guy vs bad guy--forcing an unlikely hero/bad guy alliance. Yeah that would be a cool one too! (hasn't 24 used this one?) The reverse would be just as likely in real life. hero and hero helper vs bad guy and the hero helper realizes that his motivation is going to drive him/her over to the bad guy's side, whether the bad guy knows it or not...
heck I could keep going on those for forever and ever..... oh and don't forget.. MUST HAVE TICKING CLOCK DEADLINE!
Yeah, those would hook me in...
LizW65:
Just remember, the best bad guys always think they're the good guys!
meg_evonne:
Way to go Liz!! ditto that thought!
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