Today, we’re going to take a look at our suspense Hero.  See, when you’re when you’re writing a suspense, it’s all about the guy who rises from the dust, the ball in hand. 

 

(Ooops, it’s playoff season.  And I just watched the Pack (my second favorite team!) beat the Bears. Go Pack!) so you may get football illustrations)

 

But, just as quick review, last week, we divided a suspense novel into three sections: 

 

Act 1: The Game 

The set up:  Players, the Goals, the Rules, Board/Playing field. 

 

Act Two: The Guts

All the great stuff happens during the Guts phase – confronting fears, reaching out in the darkness for the girl’s hand, stealing a kiss, and failing big, and learning something new about yourself. 

 

Act 3: the GLOW.

The glow is the big change inside, summoning your courage, overcoming of the monster/villain, and saving the day. 

 

When you’re constructing your Suspense, start your novel by outlining all three sections. Here’s a hint that helps me:  Act 1 and Act 3 combined should be a little less than ½ as long as the entire novel.  For example, if you have a 20 chapter novel, you might spend 3-4 chapters on Act 1, and 3-4 chapters on Act 3, which leaves 12-14 Chapters for Act 2.   

 

If you have a 90,000 word novel (and most suspense novels are 75-90K), then you might have 12K for Act 1, 12-15K for Act 3, leaving 50+ K for Act 2. 

 

Okay, enough math.  It’s all I can handle. 

 

Let’s start with the GAME.  And specifically….

Guys and Gals.  We’ll talk about our Gal next week. 

 

This week, it’s all about our Guy.

 

Our suspense Hero is a rare breed.  He must be an everyday man who has the capacity to be a hero, but someone who might not be our heroine’s first choice.  He must also be extraordinary, have some special skills that he might use to save the day.  Finally, he must have a perfect mix of toughness and tenderness, and at the end of the day, must be willing to sacrifice himself for our heroine (or, if there is no romance, then the cause of the day). 

 

If you followed this blog from last year, you know that the key to every character is finding his dark moment from the past and building on that to create a multi-layered character.  This is essential for creating your suspense hero, also.  But, for a suspense you must also add three elements: 

 

Let’s take a closer look. 

 

Sympathy: 

Our hero must be believable, a person we understand, someone who isn’t perfect, but has something about him that makes him sympathetic.  Even if they are super buff and unflappable Navy Seals they need to have some way to connect to the reader.  You might do this by inserting a flaw, or a situation that has crippled him.  And you incorporate this sympathetic element right away in the story to bond him with the reader. 

 

Let’s look at some examples: 

 

In Eagle Eye, we first meet the hero as a fast talking husker who wheedles his pal into betting high and losing big.  We’re impressed with his ability to wheel and deal – until his break is over and he returns to work.

 

As a print shop clerk.  (Not that there is anything wrong with being a print shop clerk, but it’s a bit of an unlikely suspense hero…which is also the point). 

 

Then, continuing the scene, the hero arrives to his apartment only to have to talk his way out of getting evicted…to discover that his brother has died.  By the time we attend the funeral with him, and we see his parents disappointment with him as the lesser twin brother, (he has obviously dropped out of school and doesn’t believe in himself to build a different future), we feel very sorry for him. 

 

When we arrives him to find his apartment full of bomb making terrorist materials, we’re rooting for him, horrified at what might happen to him.  This is an excellent way to build sympathy for him (and to get us to root for him as he begins to break law after law!) 

 

Let’s take a look at my other favorite – The Bourne Identity.  Bourne is fished from the sea, near death.  He has a bullet in him, and he has no idea who he is.  He works onboard, earning his keep enough so that the fishermen give him money and wish him well.  We don’t see him as dangerous, but as a victim, especially as he spends the night on a park bench, shivering. 

 

We want him to figure out who he is as desperately as he does. 

 

How did I use it?  Expect the Sunrise, the story opens with our hero chasing after a guy he thinks is a terrorist.  The sympathetic element comes in when his brother, who is not an FBI agent, takes a bullet.  Suddenly the mood shifts and it’s about Mac’s need for help.  He spots an airplane flying overhead and calls for help, but the pilot doesn’t stop.  It’s that helpless feeling that we all have when we someone we love is hurt. 

 

To find that sympathetic element, ask yourself:  What situation can you open the story with that connects your reader with a feeling, an idea, a sacrifice or a moment that we can all relate to?  

 

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about creating a Competent Hero who can face his Greatest Fear.

 

Thank you for all the folks who participated in last week’s drawing!

 

The Winner is Janet K:

A mystery: Columbo
A suspense: Marathon Man
A thriller: Vanilla Sky

 

This week – send me your favorite suspense Hero and WHY he’s your favorite (to susan@mybooktherapy.com and you’ll be added into this week’s drawing for Point of No Return!  

 

See you tomorrow –

Susie May