Jim Bell Suspence

James Scott Bell on Suspense..

Click on Jim's picture to visit his website.

More from Jim Bell:

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And more books by Jim...

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Click on the book cover to get James Scott Bell's No Legal Grounds

Another great book by Jim. A must read for all writers. Click on the cover to learn more.

The following are a copy of my notes of a session that I was in with Jim Bell a few years ago. It is a combination of his teaching and my thoughts. These are not direct quotes from Jim but as seen through my filter. They are in note form and sometimes not complete thoughts or have the correct punctuation..

James Scott Bell's book on Plot and Structure is a great resource for writers and may be purchased from Amazon

I carry a copy in my laptop briefcase, it's there now. I have found it invaluable in the writing process.

DAVE'S NOTES...

Mystery? Asks questions like who did it, like a maze reaching a solution, survival skills, what will lead character find next?

Suspense? Will he do it again? Like a coil that tightens, a nightmare, what will happen to the character next, suspend – to leave off a resolution don’t resolve too quickly

TECHNIQUES OF SUSPENSE

1. a sympathetic lead character MOST IMPORTANT

worry about, invested in, keep them on the hook

sympathy, we want to be on their side

a. no whimps, sits there and takes it

b. we can identify with, shares our values, ordinary character caught up in extraordinary circumstances, perfect characters are boring but has flaws Indiana Jones-afraid of snakes.

Put the character in jeopardy , eminent danger , begins with total crisis in their lives and then a change of redemption

Underdogs, facing long odds

Somewhat likable character

Care about people other than themselves, no self-centered

Determined

Have attitude

Fears the most

2. death death is overhanging the entire story, could be emotional or spiritual death also professional death one last chance to redeem himself, a cop , a detective,

or psychological death. Quest for meaning, Catcher in the Rye

3. The Grabber the hook, from the beginning, not description of ordinary life.

A good story is life with the dull parts taken out – Hitchcock

I try not to write the line that the people skip

First line, paragraph, page

A person, named, identity

Write in the action, disturbing, danger, unanswered question

A formula is a formula because it works!!! Freshen it with your own flavor

Opening of chapters - dialogue action in dialogue immediate, sympathetic action

Act first – explain later rule…

Have a strong opposition character

Physical strength
Collective strength – mafia, gang, power behind them, conspiracy
Physiological psychopath
Intelligent strength Hannibal Lector don’t make them one dimensional evil charming, seductive, Hitchcock’s villains

Create huge Igo and understand why he does the evil

Scene Tension

Undercurrent of tension
You can slow story down for pace but not for sake of background
Allies of the lead character, create tension between them Lethal Weapon – crazy Riggs a cop who is crazy partnered with a cop about to retire
Character on the run is tension, stretch the tension as far as it can

Action
Thoughts
Dialogue
Focus on every beat of the scene
Easier to edit down than to expands Dean Koonts - Whispers stalker scene like 18 pages

The Cutaway

High tension and then cut away
Leave them hanging
Writing in 3 rd person POV with multiple POV’s
Back and forth from POV, one scene to another, back and forth
If you use 1 st person POV - 1 st person and 3 rd James Patterson

Time delay, “when I was a boy my father said…”

Can make them wait to see
Don’t be in a hurry to resolve anything, the less you resolve, the better
With chapter endings we don’t necessarily need resolution
Cut the scene sooner

The Chapter 2 Switch trick

Take the entire 1 st chapter out and start with chapter 2
Drop in chapter 1 much later in the story
Act first explain later

Raised Stakes

Stakes should get higher as we go along

Plot stakes

what physical harm can come to my lean and how can I take that threat further?
what new forces can come in to oppose my lead character?
or new character on leads side turns against him
professional duty of character and what’s worst that can happen to career life?
character stakes

more emotionally wrenching?
are there dark secrets from the past?
what must the lead hide from others at all costs?
Society, social implication? Politicians

Raymond Chandler said whenever something got dull, bring in a guy with a gun
Bring in something and then justify it, what are the ripple effects

Twists and Turns

The reader doesn't’t expect
Make sure they work

Stop halfway through the story and make a list of all the things your reader will expect to happen, we have seen things before and might guess what is going to happen – and then do the opposite or instead of a 180 do a 75!!!
Make a list of the choices or the scene has to go a certain way, make a list of alternatives, do it quickly and don’t edit yourself, brainstorm!!!
Someone unexpected, delivers the wrong message, urgent call, a corpse drops through the ceiling

The Satisfying Ending

Don’t let them down
Strong endings will leave you with satisfaction
Ties up all lose ends and who wins, the audience wants to have a sense that good triumphs over evil
Make a list toward the ending scene, alternative endings, brainstorm, fresher ending
All questions that are raised, what happened to the characters????