Thriller plot: Figure out destination to build climax

Figure out the end of the novel before you start to write

The great thriller writer Joseph Finder told me that figuring out the end of a thriller plot is key to getting started. “Gotta know the destination,” he said. (More from Joseph on plot.)

Take a look at my diagram of the outline for a thriller plot

(You’ve seen it before). The two pieces I fill in first are the Set Up in Act I and the Payoff in Act III, where the hero prevents whatever the bad guy aims to do.

Why build thriller plot that way?

Because you gotta know the destination before you start on the journey. If you don’t, you’ll meander. That nice rising diagonal line across the diagram will droop and zig zag — and that means losing momentum. You’ll waste a lot of energy going in the wrong direction. That’s how novelists get deflated and novels get dropped. Plot those two elements first and the rest is just a matter of connecting two dots.

Joe Finder’s best

By the way, if you haven’t read Joseph Finder, my favorites are Paranoia and Killer Instinct. Looking at the plot diagram, both of those novels have a great set-up and a knockout payoff.