David Sylvester
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David Sylvester Twists and Turns
What I learned doing this assignment is…
Read through your Thriller Map and look for places to build in twists.
Use the 14 Types of Twists to brainstorm possible twists. Make sure they have the Current Direction / Twist pattern.
Tell us the places you added twists.
Act 1 –
Direction # Wilma’s calm routine is suddenly jarred
Direction # Wilma’s calm dog is always barking now
Twist # Her dog is killed
Direction # Come out of retirement to help with the investigation
Twist # Wilma’s psychiatrist who insists on a chaos-free life pushes Wilma to help the FBI.
Act 2 –
Twist:# Wilma hides the evidence that points to her.
Direction# The Best friend refers to their “encounter “ the previous night, Wilma has no idea what she’s talking about.
Twist# best friend comes on to her
Direction# Wilma is talking about a hallucination of herself.
Twist # The hallucination has real fingerprints
Act 3
Twist # The psychiatrist is secretly recording Wilma’s sessions for a book deal
Direction # Wilma’s hallucination is real.
Twist hallucination is from a parallel life
Direction# hallucination wants Wilma’s life
Direction # Wilma is being framed as the serial killer
Twist # Hallucination will be free after Wilma is killed by the FBI as the serial killer
Include the new version of your Thriller Map.
OPENING: Wilma is running from someone, afraid for her life. She raises the gun and shoots.
Life Threatening #1: Wilma is all alone and the serial killer is hunting. Her
Act 1-
Direction # Wilma’s calm dog is always Barking
Mystery # who killed Wilma’s dog?
Mystery # items moved around the house
Mystery # Wilma is having dreams about killings
Direction # Wilma’s calm routine is suddenly jarred
Twist # Her dog is killed
INCITING INCIDENT: Her FBI friend asks her for her help on a new serial killer case.
Twist # Wilma’s psychiatrist pushes Wilma to help the FBI.
TURNING POINT 1: She actively investigate the case
Life Threatening #Is Wilma’s PTSD coming back
Mystery crime evidence that points to Wilma
Twist:# Wilma hides the evidence that points to her.
Direction# The Best friend refers to their “encounter “ the previous night, Wilma has no idea what she’s talking about.
Twist# best friend comes on to her
Villain’s Plan #. Make Wilma seems to be mentally unstable.
Direction# Wilma is talking to a hallucination of herself.
Twist # The hallucination has real fingerprints
Twist # The psychiatrist is secretly recording Wilma’s sessions for a book deal
MIDPOINT: her husband is murdered in their bed
Mystery # who murdered her husband
Life-Threatening #3 Wilma is the prime suspect
Mystery #Wilma’s hallucination her have fingerprints
Direction # Wilma’s hallucination is real.
Twist hallucination is from a parallel life
Direction# hallucination wants Wilma’s life
Direction # Wilma is being framed as the serial killer
Twist # Hallucination will be free after Wilma is killed by the FBI as the serial killer
TURNING POINT 2 Wilma realizes that her hallucination is real..herself from a parallel life that’s doing all the killings
CLIMAX: chasing the serial killer
Life Threatening #4 The serial killer iis setting her up
Wilma chases the serial killer and shoots the serial killer
RESOLUTION: Wilma wakes up in the hospital in the serial killer’s timeline getting everything she dreamed of
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David Sylvester Thriller Plot!
What I learned is… How to develop a story differently.
OPENING: Wilma is running from someone, afraid for her life. She raises the gun and shoots.
Life Threatening #1: Wilma is all alone and the serial killer is hunting. her
Mystery # Her dog is killed
Mystery # items moved around the house
INCITING INCIDENT: Her FBI friend asks her for her help on a new serial killer case.
Mystery # Wilma is having dreams about killings
TURNING POINT 1: She actively investigate the case
Life Threatening #Is Wilma’s PTSD coming back
Mystery crime evidence that points to Wilma
Villain’s Plan #. Make Wilma seems to be mentally unstable.
MIDPOINT: her husband is murdered in their bed
Mystery # who murdered her husband
Life Threatening #3 Wilma is the prime suspect
Mystery #Wilma’s hallucination her have fingerprints
TURNING POINT 2 Wilma realizes that her hallucination is real..herself from a parallel life that’s doing all the killings
CLIMAX: chasing the serial killer
Life Threatening #4 The serial killer is setting her up
Wilma chases the serial killer and shoots the serial killer
RESOLUTION: Wilma wakes up in the hospital in the serial killer’s timeline getting everything she dreamed of.
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David Sylvester Life-Threatening Sequence
What I learned is…
What is the Villain’s plan and how does that put the Hero in danger?
To get Wilma to be part of the serial killings
To make Wilma and everyone thinks she’s mentally unstable
To make Wilma think she’s the killer for her to hide evidence connected to her.
Kill Wilma and assume her life.
What other potential dangers could your Hero experience as they try to solve the mystery and confront the Villain?
Being a suspect in the killings
Convicted as the serial killer
Locked up in a mental institution
Having her husband or best friend killed
To be killed herself.
Sequence those dangers in order and make a list like the one I did for Basic Instinct above.
A series of brutal killings discovers a new serial killer is on the loose.
Wilma is having dreams about killings
(Wilma had to stop helping the FBI on serial killers because of PTSD)
FBI asks her just look into it.
Wilma is hallucinating talking to herself
She confides in her mental state – her purposely makes her question herself more for his case study
Her dog is killed- Wilma dream it
Each killing Wilma finds a clue that points to her. She hides all clues.
Her husband is killed in their bed.
She’s now a suspect.
The best friend dreams of her killing.
Wilma is convinced the psychiatrist is doing everything.
Wilma is all alone and the serial killer is hunting. her
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David Sylvester Mystery Sequence
What I learned is… This is a new technique for writing that I will use for the rest of my career.
What is the big secret that the Villain is covering up?
Her existence
How many ways can they cover that secret? Those become the mysteries.
Wilma’s PTSD
The serial murders
Out of the realm of reality
Psychiatrist involvement
The first mystery must engage the Hero into solving it.
The serial murders
Sequence the mysteries so that each one leads us to the next one. Include ONE Red Herring mystery if you can.
Serial murders
Is Wilma’s PTSD coming back
Who’s setting up Wilma for the murders
Why does Wilma’s hallucination have fingerprints
Who killed the husband
Is the Psychiatrist or Wilma’s best friend the killer
Create a Mystery Chain for each main mystery.
Is Wilma’s PTSD coming back?
Move items around the house
Talk to Wilma like a hallucination
Predict she’s going to murder people
Who’s setting up Wilma for the murders
Leave clues and evidence that are personal to Wilma- only she knows what they are
Who killed the husband
The evidence points to her.
Whispers at night told her Wilma is the killer
Husband is abusive to Wilma
Is the Psychiatrist or Wilma’s best friend the killer
Wilma tells them everything
Her girlfriend wants her for herself.
The psychiatrist is pushing her over the edge to write a case study on her.
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David Sylvester Villain Has a Great Plan!
What is the end goal?
To have Wilma framed for the serial killing and then kill
Wilma
2. How can the Villain accomplish that in a devious way?
Make all of the evidence points towards Wilma
How can they cover it up?
Make Wilma seems to be mentally unstable.
Sequence it to make it as intriguing as possible.
Commit serial murders
Give hints to get Wilma on the case
Pretend to be Wilma and make plans to play on Wilma look like her memory laps are coming back
Talk with Wilma’s psychiatrist as Wilma
Create clues that Wilma would question herself
Leave evidence that points to Wilma
Make Wilma cover up the evidence.
Pretending to be Wilma and lead the hunt for the serial killer… to kill Wilma by police
Kill Wilma’s husband.
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David Sylvester SOTL Stacking Suspense
The inciting instance is where the protagonist chooses to stumble into the villain’s master plan. Clarice agrees to do a little side job for Jack Croword to interview Lecter.
Every scene (besides having some type of MIS in it) also has one MIS hook at the end.
Mid-point – Lecter’s plan is executed and everyone’s world is turned upside down by him escaping. He uses Clarice’s MIS pleasing father figure and be the best of whatever she does. She catches one serial killer but is in the (villain plan) of Lecter for his escape.
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David Sylvester BI Stacking Suspense
I combined questions 3 and 4.
The first half of the movie is the setup for mystery and intrigue, and the pre-battle scenes are the reveals of the mysteries in the first half.
Every scene has an M.I.S. In it.
The. Character’s MIS is the basis of there getting caught up in the story’s Big MIS
The reveal of the true antagonist wasn’t revealed until the end and still wasn’t sure.
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David Sylvester World and Characters!
What I learned doing this assignment is, but updating the concept, I got a workable longline.
1. Remind us of your CONCEPT and the Big M.I.S. of your story.
Story concept updated-
A serial killer specialist reluctantly comes out of seclusion to help the FBI’s hunt for the new serial killer, later discovers that all the evidence points to her.
• Big Mystery: The hunt for the serial killer.
Big Intrigue: Davis’ popping in and of 2 parallel lives to find out she’s the serial killer in the parallel life.
Big Suspense: The serial killer is hunting her. The FBI is closing in, making Davis the prime suspect.
Intriguing World: Hunting for a serial killer.
3. Top characters:
Character: The husband.
The husband is Davis’ reality check. He accepts and enabler her for all of her faults
• A. Mystery: why’s he so understanding where’s there is an undertone of anger.
B. Suspense: will he expose her lies to the FBI.
C. Intrigue: is he the serial killer and is toying with her.
The psychiatrist-
He’s working with Davis because of her trauma over her last big serial killer case. Davis has PTSD over it
A. Mystery: he’s taking so much interest in her case.
B. Suspense: does he figure out about the parallel lives and the serial killer?C. Intrigue: He manipulating her to further his career
Best friend-
A. Mystery: She hates the husband.
B. Suspense: she’s setting up Wilma for divorce
C. Intrigue: She wants Wilma for herself
FBI liaison
A. Mystery: He doesn’t want Wilma on the case. He saw her breakdown and kept it a secret.
B. Suspense: would he find out the leads that Wilma is hiding so she won’t be a suspect.
C. Intrigue: They had an affair.
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David Sylvester Big M.I.S.
What I learned doing this assignment is- I’m getting a better perspective on MIS and clarity on my story.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Wilma Davey
Dangerous Villain Serial Killer Wilma Davey
High stakes To catch the Serial Killer before they kill again.
Life and death situations: The serial killer is stocking Wilma
This story is thrilling because The serial killer knows everything that Wilma is thinking.
2. Tell us the Big M.I.S. of your story?
Big Mystery:
Wilma comes out of early retirement to catch a serial killer that eventually the evidence is pointing at her.
Big Intrigue: Wilma pops out and out of parallel lives. She’s the serial killer.
Big Suspense: the serial killer is hunting her.
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FRACTURED- Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is… You can play with POV to create M.I.S.
Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: Ray Monroe
Dangerous Villain: Hospital doctors and staff.
High stakes: Finding his wife and daughter after being admitted to the hospital.
Life and death situations: Hospital staff doesn’t know who’s he talking about.
This movie is thrilling because- You believe him, he’s fighting for his family, and you feel that they are in danger.
Big Mystery: where are his daughter and wife after being admitted to the hospital.
Big Intrigue: why’s everyone lying about seeing them.
Big Suspense: can he save his family.
The ending had a surprise reveal that tied everything up.
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David Sylvester
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