WWSSD? (What would Sidney Sheldon do?)

I’m probably showing my age but the first adult thriller book I fell in love with was IF TOMORROW COMES by Sidney Sheldon. I was right out of high school and wanted to read something in the adult genre, because . . . you know, I was finally an adult. My mother was a big fan and had a few of his books. I knew Sidney Sheldon also wrote one of my favorite TV shows, I DREAM OF JEANNIE (see, there’s really no doubt just how old I am now), so I gave it a try.

 

I was mesmerized. As much as I loved the books from my childhood, they weren’t anything like this. IF TOMORROW COMES was so cleverly written. I remember, toward the end, I was a nervous wreck. You see, there was this really horrible man after Tracy, the main character. He was just about to catch her and she had no idea. I was so sucked into to the story and so scared for the heroine that I couldn’t go to sleep until I found out what happened.  

And then the most amazing thing – there was a twist. Sheldon flipped the story on me and nothing was what it seemed. (I really don’t want to ruin the ending because even though it’s 20+ years old, this is a fabulous book and you should definitely check it out). I can remember how stunned I was. This was not the first book I’d read where a plot twist was used but it was the first twist I never saw coming. Now, being new to the genre, it probably wasn’t hard to blindside me but I was utterly impressed all the same and my love of the unexpected was born.

That is really the key to a great thriller – suck the reader in and then . . . BAM! . . . total surprise twist that changes everything. It’s a simple concept but tough to pull off. You need to drop a few hints so the twist doesn’t feels far-fetched and phony but you can’t give too much away that everyone sees the twist coming. It’s a delicate balance.

So when I start plotting a story, I always ask myself, “What would Sidney Sheldon do?”  

For more info on IF TOMORROW COMES, click here!  

 

Ashley Elston lives in North Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, will be published by Disney-Hyperion on May 14, 2013. Ashley has read IF TOMORROW COMES approximately 6 times and will probably re-read again as soon as she finishes typing this bio.

 

You can find Ashley here:

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The Mysterious MacGuffin

Mac·Guf·fin  noun \mə-ˈgə-fən\
Definition of MACGUFFIN : an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance (Merriam-Webster) 

Okay, I’ll admit it: I partly chose to write about MacGuffins because I just like saying the word (go ahead, try it!). But on a more serious note, I’m in the midst of crafting a new mystery and it’s got me thinking about them.

In case you don’t know a MacGuffin is, it’s what the whole story is about, yet at the same it doesn’t really matter what it is. Clear? ☺

Wikipedia says, “a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin) is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist (and sometimes the antagonist) is willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to pursue, protect or control, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered so important.”

Alfred Hitchcock is probably best known for MacGuffins. Here he is, explaining it all:



It’s R2-D2 and the Death Star plans in Star Wars, the statuette in the Maltese Falcoln, the ring in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and Samwise and everyone else could just have easily been questing over a necklace or a stone or the deed to Middle Earth. The story would be the same, no matter the object.

In kidlit, it’s the baseball card in Swindle, the veena in Vanished, the horcruxes in Harry Potter, the painting in Chasing Vermeer, the million dollars in The Westing Game, Hamiathes's Gift in The Thief, the 39 clues in….well, The 39 Clues.

And, as I write that, I can’t help but think, the MacGuffin is also, oftentimes, the hook of the book. It’s the funny, intriguing, unexpected thing that might get kids to pick it up. In the library where I work, I can barely finish saying “original Babe Ruth baseball card” before Swindle is snatched out of my hands (that dog on the cover helps, too!).

I also think that the tighter the link the MacGuffin has to who the main character is, the more compelling the story. That’s why Neela’s story is so strong in Vanished. It’s her veena that’s stolen and it has deep ties to her family and her identity (it also may be cursed, which, again, helps with the hook). 

So…back to plotting. A MacGuffin that’s unique, funny, or surprising—AND that is personal to who your main character is. Hmmm. MacGuffins may be trickier than they seem...even though they’re not really about anything at all.

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W.H. Beck is a school librarian by day and middle grade author by night. Her first mystery, Malcolm at Midnight, stars classroom pets at midnight (it's MacGuffin is a missing iguana). You can find her online (Beck, not the iguana)  at http://www.whbeck.com.