Hey all, I have an idea for a book that's based on spree killer Billy Cook. During his murder spree, he was picked up as a hitchhiker by a family of five that he eventually took hostage at gunpoint and forced them to drive around aimlessly for 72 hours. What happens in those 72 hours is fascinating to me. I want my plot to be based on this situation but I know I need to add something to it. I have the first chapter written: man poses as a hitchhiker, unwitting couple picks him up, he takes them hostage. I don't know where they're going or what other elements could be added to this story, and I'm all ears for suggestions.
No, no, no. The plot doesn't make the writer, practice and hard work does. You know the directions you want more than anyone else. You come up with the plot. Why don't you take a while and read a number of thrillers along the same lines as the Billy Cook story. Also, look up the nuances and turns that made the Billy Cook story interesting to you. You might find some good plot ideas hiding right in front of you as you research the little things in the subject that interests you. Every member could give you a thousand decent suggestions, but it's going to be up to you to write it. From experience, it's a lot easier to plot something you know a fair bit about through research and experience.
How...how about...you make a list of things that could happen. No matter how silly, absurd, or not possible, write out each option you think of. A writer needs to develop his mind, and one's self is the only one who knows what one wants to write. Don't ask for ideas. Make them up. Even if they're the kind of things that would make logic blush.
I apologize, that's not one of my genres unfortunately. I would take a look in our book discussion section if that's a thread, but hopefully others come to help with that. Otherwise, I would check out best selling thrillers this last few years on top lists. Generally they earned their place on those lists, and keeping up with modern work in the genre you want to write enables you to gauge the market more accurately on styles.
