Holly wrote:
What I want to have happen in my story is to gather a task
force to investigate the murders going on around town. Of course, the killer
will be on the task force, so he can monitor what they know, throw them off
track, etc. Should I kill off another attorney now? Maybe a female this time? I
think I need to get Ollie out to the jail to see Araceli, but there’s no action
there. Maybe I should have the murder happen in another jurisdiction, so Ollie
& her buds aren’t in the middle of it, again?
I’m having a hard time getting this thing moving—it seems
that most of the danger and tension that comes to Ollie is in her head. Maybe I
do need to kill some more people so the task force is established sooner.
However she’s involved in it (whether she’s on it, or just friends with people
who are) it will become apparent to the killer that she is a threat to him, and
of course he’s going to go after her. Maybe I’m just taking too long getting
there?
Maybe Ollie needs to do some research & discover some
old murders that fit the pattern? Bring it to the attention of Merc her mentor,
so the TF is established soon?
Thank you, as always, for your invaluable help...
Hi, Holly ~
Murder? Did you say you want to murder someone? Several
someones?? CHA-CHING!!
No, seriously—a good rule of thumb when writing a thriller
is: when things get slow—kill someone.
How this stacks is, you’ve got two sisters—Ollie and Araceli.
Araceli stands accused of their father’s murder and it’s up to Ollie to prove
her innocent…
A task force would only be formed if:
1) There are several
murders, or:
2) The victim was extremely high profile, either due to media
coverage or importance within the community.
I think you can cover that by killing off some high profile
defense attorneys and or a judge (I’d kill ‘em all, but I’m stabby that way).
Your killer needs to go on a spree of sorts—two or three victims in as many
days—this will whip the community into a frenzy, making the task force a viable
option.
But… and I’m sure you’ve thought of this:
1)
Once these murders start popping up, it’s going
to become clear that Araceli is innocent and she’ll be released, thus solving
Ollie’s surface problem.
2)
Ollie would never be allowed within a country
mile of this task force if her sister is the suspected murderer.
One way to avoid all this is to make these new murders
totally different from Ollie’s father’s. Have them die violently or publicly
(or both) so that when the task force is formed, no one is including her father’s
death in the line-up. They have Araceli all sewn up and since it’s a completely
different case, Ollie can work the task force. From within the task force, she
can view case files of other victims and note some sort of pattern that only
she can see, and how it relates to her father’s murder. Ollie will start to investigate on her own
because any correlation between the TF murders and her father’s will get her kicked
off the task force, thus ending the flow of information she needs to solve the
case. As she digs, she uncovers a sting of similar murders across the country
and starts to connect them all via this magical pattern (don’t worry, I have
faith in you!) only she can see. When Ollie feels like she’s compiled enough
info to make her case, she brings her findings to the table and get shot down
but since the killer is on the task force, he’ll know just how close she is and
try to kill her before she can expose him.
I know that Ollie happens to be in possession of some
information that she took from her father’s apartment. What if there is
something on it that the killer wants? Maybe she’s “mugged” in the parking
garage at work( the killer attacked her to try to get the thumb drive but she doesn’t
have it on her.) Maybe she lands in the hospital but checks herself out early
to recuperate at home and the killer breaks into her house while she’s there. Maybe
she goes back to her father’s to dig for more info and the killer breaks in
while she’s there… there is plenty of opportunity for danger here, Holly—you just
got to make it happen! J
Thanks for the question, Holly and I hope I helped!
Maegan
Got a plot problem? thrillersandkillers@gmail.com
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