{"id":1692,"date":"2022-06-15T07:05:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T11:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/?p=1692"},"modified":"2022-06-15T07:05:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T11:05:51","slug":"spy-thrilling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/15\/spy-thrilling\/","title":{"rendered":"Spy Thrilling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On July 19, 2021, Kit Kat Kitty wrote, Does anyone have any advice about how to nail down what you want the plot of your story to be? I\u2019ve been wanting to write a Spy Thriller for a really long time, (since about November 2019). I started the first draft for NaNoWriMo, but gave up and moved onto different projects (as evidence in this post). Recently, I had another idea for one, which would take place in the same world and country but involve a different main character and take place a few years before the one I started in 2019. However, I\u2019m having a lot of issues deciding what I actually want to happen. I really like espionage, fun action scenes, secrets, dark pasts, many things that are staples of the genre. But every time I try to say \u201cThis is who my main character is, this is her main motivation\u2026\u201d It all feels wrong. I\u2019ve tried making lists but I feel overwhelmed by the possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christie V Powell wrote back, You might try Brandon Sanderson\u2019s method. He starts by writing down a couple of the goals for the plots and subplots that he wants (character A learns to trust, the villain is defeated, this element of the magic world is discovered\u2026). Then he writes down what steps would be needed to reach each one (so, for \u201clearns to trust,\u201d he might list character A mistrusted someone but was wrong, A is taught a lesson by someone, A likes someone but is held back by her mistrust\u2026). Then, as he writes, he looks at his lists and tries out what comes next. You might try that with your list (espionage can be what secret your character has to discover, the action scenes can be how to bring down the villain, etc.).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I actually don\u2019t do lists right. I usually only get to item three or four, and then my brain latches on to one and decides that This Is The Way. Sometimes I can get a few more on the list by building off of the previous ideas instead of coming up with new ones\u2013for example, if idea #3 is \u201cPerrin meets two mages,\u201d then idea #4 might be \u201cPerrin meets two mages who help heal his friend\u201d or \u201cthe two mages have ulterior motives.\u201d I think I would get overwhelmed by possibilities too if I forced myself to keep listing all brand new things. Maybe you could try out building on old ideas instead of coming up with new ones?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019m coming up with a new story idea, I start by scribbling down some of the things that I\u2019d like to include. Then I use those ideas to fill out a \u201cbeat sheet\u201d, moving them around from spot to spot and filling in new things until it feels right. I wrote a blog post about the story structure\/beat sheet I use, if you\u2019re interested: http:\/\/atypicallyordinary.blogspot.com\/2021\/06\/story-structure-for-kids-and-other.html<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terrific!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve made no secret about having a hard time with plotting, even though plot interests me more than anything else. My plot handicap is why I lean so hard on fairytales and myths and, lately, history, which help me not only with my story shape but also with unexpected tidbits that suggest plot directions. Providentially, I\u2019m right now figuring out the plot of my murder mystery that takes place in thirteenth century England and I can give you an example from recent reading:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #1: The murdered woman, who is historical, had a powerful and influential son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #2: The son lived in a different city from hers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #3: Little was done to find her killer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #4: It was easy to escape from jail and hide out in dense forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #5: The prime suspect did escape and fled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fact #6: Travel, unsurprisingly, was dangerous. (Think bands of evil Robin Hoods.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t written anything yet, but my plot as I had imagined it before my most recent research was a bit too straightforward. Now, though I\u2019ll have to find out more, I hope to make my two MCs travel through this scary countryside to reach the powerful and influential son. Without research, I wouldn\u2019t have thought of this promising plot twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of curiosity, I googled \u201creal-life spies\u201d and found lots of entries. One of them was this: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_American_spies<\/a>, though it may not be the most useful. We can click on a few and noodle around the websites, jotting down discoveries that interest us. In the Wikipedia list, we can click on some spies and read about them. We can sample spies in different eras and see what changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this stage, we can think of ourselves as tourists, lingering here, sampling this war or that crisis, this country or that one. It\u2019s important not to worry. We\u2019re picking flower buds of possibilities. If we\u2019re relaxed about it, the flower buds will drift around. In the backs of our minds, some will make patterns, break apart, and reform. This sounds fanciful, but our creative selves need space where desperation is not allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, when we arrange them in our story bouquet, we can figure out where they go. Some may reveal themselves as weeds. Some may bloom with surprising colors and vivid perfumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process is likely to continue as we write. We\u2019re stuck in Chapter Six until we remember a particular factoid we read about a spy in the Franco-Prussian War and a different one from the Cold War. (I\u2019m assuming this will be a fantasy spy thriller since Kit Kat Kitty mentioned the \u201cworld\u201d of her story. If we\u2019re writing strictly historical fiction, we\u2019ll have to be more rigorous, and we won\u2019t be able to hop around in time much, but we\u2019ll still need our relaxed tourist experience.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we do our time travel, we can speculate in a writerly way. What kind of person did this particular spy have to be to accomplish what she did? There may be several possibilities, which we can list. What might have stood in her way? What stood in the way of a different spy that we looked at that we can plug in? I\u2019m thinking not only of personality but also of physicality. For example, did she have asthma before there were inhalers? Does she have any identifying features? For instance, I would have a hard time getting through a dragnet because of my height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love to look at online images, although, usually, after the first four or so, they tend to switch to other people. I don\u2019t care much if I\u2019m not writing real historical fiction. What kind of person would wear this expression? What might have happened to this one to cause those frown lines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we\u2019re ready\u2014we can even declare a set time period for our touring, say a month\u2014we can write notes about what we\u2019ve learned. Still in relaxed mode, we can speculate about how we can use it. Gradually, our story is likely to take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy. This is the part I dislike most. But this is the best way I\u2019ve found to get through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great thing about historical research over spy novels and movies is that we don\u2019t have to worry about infringing on anyone else\u2019s creation. History happened. No one told President Truman, for instance, to make up his mind to drop the atomic bombs because the war’s historical moment was taking too long to conclude and the pacing was faltering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do, of course, have to be aware of copyright in nonfiction biographies and history books. The authors of these books shape their presentation of facts and people. If we discover something important to our story, we probably want to find more than one source for it. This is one reason I love Wikipedia, because it\u2019s open source, and we can use whatever we like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three prompts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n