Are You Writing a Crime Story?

Grappling with?

- Story Structure

- Scattered Threads that Don’t Hold Together

- What Exactly Constitutes a Crime Story?

- Crime as a Supporting Story Type

You’re in the Right Place

Today You’ll Learn

- What Crime Stories are For

- The Many Subtypes of Crime

- Crime Story Essentials

- Building Crime Essentials into Your Story

Before We Start - Tools and Rules

What are Crime Stories For?

- We are Storytellers – But Why Tell Stories about Crime?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

        Self-Actualization: Desire to be the Most One can be

      Esteem: Respect, Self-Esteem, Status, Recognition, Strength, Freedom

    Love and Belonging: Friendship, Intimacy, Family, Sense of Connection

 ●Safety Needs: Personal Security, Employment, Resources, Property, Health

Physiological Needs: Air, Water, Food, Shelter, Clothing

What are Crime Stories For?

- Remind Us that, Where Humans Are, There’s Crime

- Reinforce Cultural Norms of Justice-Injustice

- Give a Sense of Order and Security

- Address Wrongdoing where Laws Fail

- Teach Us that Cleverness and Diligence can Solve the Puzzle

What Do Crime Stories Have in Common?

- They Use All the Tools of Good Storytelling

- They are Plot-Driven (not Character-Driven)

- The Protagonist Wants to Restore Justice or Discover Truth

- The Definition of Injustice is Contextual

         - A Actual Crime Calling for Official Justice – OR

         - An Unfair Act that’s not Illegal, Calling for Poetic Justice – OR

         - An Unsolved Mystery that’s Simply Personal to the Protagonist

How Do the Crime Subgenres Differ?

                 They Vary by:

- Protagonist’s Profession (LEO, Sleuth, PI, Lawyer, Journalist, Criminal)

- Type of Crime and Criminal (Murderer, Serial Killer, “White Collar”)

- Setting (Real World, Fantasy, SciFi, Historical)

Crime Subtypes

Murder Mystery

- Protagonist is a Private Citizen

-      Works Alone or with a Sidekick

-      Story is Focused on the Puzzle

-      Usually Takes Place in a Small Crucible

-      Goal is Restoration of Community Order

- Courtroom

         - Protagonist is a Lawyer or Intern

         - Story is Focused on Criminal Conviction

         - May be Defending the Wrongly Accused

- Criminal may be a Corporation

- Goal is Social Justice

- Journalism

         - Protagonist is a Journalist

         - Story is Focused on Large Questions of Justice

         - Goal is to Expose Crime and Rise in Status

         - Crime is Often Scandalous (Corruption, Sex Offenses)

         - Many True Crime Stories in This Category

- Police Procedural

         - Protagonist is Law Enforcement Official

         - Driven to Get Wrongdoers Off the Street

         - Usually Part of a Team with Public Resources

         - Crime is Usually a Violent Felony

- Caper and Heist

         - Protagonist is or Becomes a Criminal

         - Seeks Justice Outside the Law, Against another Criminal

         - Forms a Team with Private Resources

         - Crime is Non-Violent, “White Collar”

- Crime Thriller

         - Protagonist May be LEO, Lawyer, Other

         - Criminal has “Monster” Characteristics

         - Criminal Targets the Protagonist

         - Crime is Usually a Violent Felony

         - Goal is to Save Future Victims

- Crime-Like Supporting Story

         - Protagonist’s Goal is to Uncover a Hidden Truth

         - Investigative Skills and Situations Come into Play

         - Antagonist is Not an Actual Criminal

         - Solution Restores “Order” to Protagonist’s Mind

Subtypes are Important

         They may Greatly Affect an Individual’s Decision to Read the Story

Know Your Subtypes

Know Its Trends

Read Widely and Deeply

Know What Readers Expect

Do Your Research

They Have a Structure in Common

Every Good Working Story:

- Has  Protagonist Pursuing a Particular Desire …

- … Which Establishes Clear Stakes …

- … and Causes Them to Undergo a Change as They Pursue It

- Has a Premise that Reflected in Every Scene

- Is Driving Toward the Emotion your Audience Expects to Feel

- Has the Specific Characters and Moments the Audience of Your Story

Type Expects

Desire – Stakes – Change – Premise – Emotion – Characters and Moments

Do This and Your Story will be on the Right Track

So You have a Puzzle to Solve

- What are the Pieces of a Crime Story?

- How Do You Put Them Together?

Crime Essentials

Desire

Desire (Want and Need)

- The Protagonist Wants to Restore Justice and Order

- Their Need Depends on the Supporting Story Type

         To Gain Knowledge, Redemption or Social Status

Stakes

Stakes

- Gail: Social Order, the Belief that Justice will Prevail

- Lose: Restoration of Justice, Social Order, Satisfaction of Solving the Puzzle

Stakes Continuum

Justice-Fairness-Unfairness-Injustice-False Justice

Order to Chaos

Change

Change

- Result of the Pressures Faced in the Story

- Different from the Beginning to the End

- Determined by Your Supporting Story Type

Premise

Premise: The Central Idea of the Story in a Cause-Effect Statement

Crime Premise Examples

- Clever Investigators Restore Order by Outwitting the Criminal

- Good Police Work Results in Justice

- The Rule of Law Moves Society Towards Justice

- Crime Pays when People Team Up to Cheat the System, but not Each Other

Premise Statement for Widows

- Cheating Other Criminals with a Clever Heist Restores Justice and Order

Emotion

Emotion

- What the Reader Wants to Feel, the Reason They Chose Your Type of Story

- Crime Readers Want to Feel the Security of Seeing Justice Done, and

Safety Restored

OR

- The Intrigue of Solving a Puzzle and Feeling More Intelligent than the

Protagonist

Essential Characters and Moments

Essential Characters

- Characters Required for the Dynamics of the Action

- Roles or Archetypes

- Roles may be Carried by Multiple Characters

- Single Character may Play Multiple Roles

Protagonist

- Primary Character Facing Justice/Injustice

- Actively Trying to Solve a Puzzle and Restore Order

- Has Characteristics the Audience can Identify With (Deductive Brilliance,

Sophistication, Flaws)

- Less Powerful than the Antagonist

- In Caper and Heist, Becomes the Criminal

Antagonist

- The Protagonist’s Opposition, Generally a Criminal

- A Step Ahead of the Protagonist, Has Information the Protagonist Wants

- Motives Must be Complex and Believable

- If a Force or Group, Must be Embodied in a Character (Politician, Hench, or

CEO)

Victim

- At Least One Victim of Injustice (Character or Environment)

- Requires Rescue from Antagonist or Injustice Because of Them

- Dependent on Protagonist for Justice

- In Heist and Caper, Victim is the Antagonist

Essential Moments

Crime Essential Moment 1: Setup

- An Investigator or Mastermind Protagonist is Involved in their Normal Activities, either Solving or Planning a Crime

Crime Essential Moment 2: Inciting Incident

Protagonist is Alerted to a Crime or Crime Opportunity, Changing Thei State from Business-as-Usual to Inspired to Restore Justice

Crime Essential Moment 3: Act One Peak

The Investigator Sees Objections to Investigating the Crime, Mastermind may See Flaws in the Proposed Caper

Crime Essential Moment 4: Act Two Complications

The Investigator Begins their Investigation. The Mastermind Starts Forming a Team and Planning the Heist.

Crime Essential Moment 5: Mid-Point Shift

The Protagonist Realizes They must Change their Approach to Solving the Mystery or Completing the Crime.

Crime Essential Moment 6: Global Peak

Investigator Confronts the Criminal Directly

         OR

Mastermind Faces the Antagonist Alone to Protect the Team

Crime Essential Moment 7: Resolution

Resolution: The Investigator Brings the Criminal to Justice, Restoring the

Legal/Social Order

         OR

The Mastermind and the Team Get Away with the Loot for Poetic Justice

Putting the Elements Together

Tent Poles Supporting a Four-Act Structure

         Each of the Four could be 25%

         The Central Two could Comprise 80%

There are Key Events in Each Act

Act 1: The Hook

- Introduce the Protagonist’s Ordinary World

- Demonstrate their Fear or Flaw

- Demonstrate the Injustice, the Inciting Crime, or Opportunity to Commit a

Crime

- Introduce Interesting Supporting Characters

- Demonstrate Whet the Protagonist Wants/Needs

- Make the Stakes Clear

Act 2: Middle Build A

- Put Clues, Red Herrings, and Obstacles Between the Protagonist and Their

Goal

- Make Sure the Obstacles Escalate

- Create a Mid-Point Shift: Protagonist Goes from Reactive to Proactive,

Changes Tactics

Act 3: Middle Build B

- Continue to Escalate the Complications and Raise the Stakes

- Remove the Protagonist’s Hopes of Restoring Justice in an All-is-Lost

Moment

Act 4: Ending Payoff

- Write a Climax: Protagonist Confronts Antagonist

- Show the Protagonist Facing their Fear/Flaw

- Show the Protagonist Outwitting the Antagonist (+)

         OR

   The Antagonist Outwitting the Protagonist (-)

- Create the Resolution Showing Justice Restored, or Continued Injustice or

Chaos

The End