Screenwriting : Crime thriller by Maite Galarza

Hi Maite, from what standpoint? Structure, character development? Or industry contacts?

I would say structure and character development. I'm particularly interested in how to creatively address the genre's conventions and tropes (a Crime, a MacGuffin, a ticking clock).

You are firmly in my wheel house. I love writing this stuff. All this is my opinion, so when I say “you must”, ignoring me may be your best course of action.

1) It is important to keep the audience behind the protagonist regarding the protagonists actions, bit ahead of the protagonist regarding most danger. So we see the Protagonist sneaking into a building, we are not sure why. But we have seen the antagonist releasing man eating dogs into the building.

2) We should know the big aim of the protagonist, but this we should learn is based on a lie. This sense of betrayal is a big thing to have in your pocket.

3) I like to have the protagonist in free fall. I have a screenplay AMY. She has gone behind her boss and set up her own drug deal. He send her on a job and she is force to leave her sister with him. Not a big issue, but will be when he finds out. She is also cut off from the money she needs for the deal. While trying to fix the deal and delay it, she is betrayed by her buyer, which triggers her boss finding out. Every time she does something it gets worse.

4) All things should be a result of the protagonists action. Some thrillers are a roller coaster. They are on rails. The character goes from one action bit to the next. They are in constant reaction. This can feel like a video game, not a film.

5) I like having death as a real possibility or something that feels like death. Something that the protagonist will not recover from.

6) I like having a big threat boiling in the background. In AMY a cop has her over a barrel based on an arrest. If she doesn’t become an informant he is going to have her charged. Her learning disabled sister will go into care. This is the sword hanging over her head the entire time. We find out it is happened after she set up the deal.

7) There should be an escape from the whole thing. Your character can be heading towards it, or due to some arrogance or other reason sees it as failure and will not save themselves (AMY).

I hope these help.

These aren’t rules, just my opinion.

When I first started out I wrote a lot of crime, mystery, and thrillers. When writing those types of a screenplay they should be full of reversals by settings up a character and then having the action reverse what is expected of that character.

There should always be tension throughout the screenplay. Tension is sometimes maintained when the audience knows that violence could erupt at any time. If you show the audience that if a character opens the door or something they knew what would happen. That help put the audience on the edge of their seats.

In Act I

I try to set the tone of the story. I like to open with some questions for the audience and then later provide some answers that aren't the true answers to the questions.

In Act II

The audience finds out information that affects the characters and lets the characters find out information that is affecting s them. The story should develop as layer after layer is stripped away and the true story is revealed even if some of the revelations suggest answers that may not be the truth. This sets up the reversal near the end.

Act III

Here all the answers to all the questions in the screenplay are answered holding back the answers as long as possible. The answers need to seem logical. One approach to doing this is to make one of your characters the logical solution to your story and then reverse that expectation at the very end.

Great to meet you, Maite Galarza. Thriller is one of my main genres to write. I don't have much advice about the Crime genre, but here are some articles about writing Thriller:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-thriller

https://www.wescreenplay.com/blog/how-to-write-thriller-like-jordan-peele/

https://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/986-thriller/

Here's a recent Stage 32 post about MacGuffins: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Do-you-use-The-Macguffin

Some of my tips for writing Thriller:

#1) Suspense is one of your biggest tools in a Thriller

#2) Twists/surprises is another huge tool in a Thriller

#3) Use specific words to set the mood in scenes

#4) Give each storyline (A Story, B Story, and Subplots) a goal, stakes, and urgency (ticking clock)

#5) Make the main antagonist as smart and skilled as the protagonist

#6) Make the sub-antagonists/henchpeople/minions smart and skilled as well

#7) Keep the plot simple (even if there are complex things going on in the story)

Andrew Walker's script for Se7en has a lot of scenes that transcend the genre's conventions...not by trying reinvent the structure, but by absolutely nailing scene fundamentals. Here's an example: https://is.gd/fUc2G4

I'm a thriller buff and these "modern" times want's us to escape the "woman in peril" mantra...I say OK, but the industry somehow disagrees...so without any further "bla-bla-bing" just watch the recent successes "Barbarian", "Invisible Man", "Watcher", etc...see am I talking right...

Thank you, guys, for all the information and great comments. They give me plenty of ideas to go on with. Happy writing!

You're welcome, Maite Galarza. Happy writing to you as well!

Hello, I would only suggest that you don't make them female led detectives but rather just, "great detectives". I am working on an all female comedy script but if I rely on my characters genders than I am limited. They should be "interesting foremost, their gender second" is how I would approach it. Best of luck!!

This book is excellent: https://www.amazon.ca/Crime-Thriller-Detective-Procedural-Thrillers-eboo...

Thanks for the book reference, Michael!