Quick Editing Checklist

Plot	1.      Does the story have recognizable structure i.e. point of action, complications, climax, falling action and resolution 2.      Is the first chapter really interesting and start with an action 3.      Does each scene have a goal, conflict, action and disaster. 4.      Do the sequels start with a reaction and end in a decision for the dilemma which will in turn lead to some kind of action. 5.      Do the scenes move fast enough with less description, back story and shorter sentences. 6.      Are the sequels just long enough and not too long. If you’re tempted to skim, they probably are. 7.      Do the subplots tie in seamlessly with the plot and do they follow the basic plot structure. 8.      For each scene is the POV and VP character clear. 9.      Is the theme coming through naturally and not contrived.
Characters	1.      Are your characters unique or can you find them somewhere if you can think hard enough. Give them unique histories, unique personalities and personalized quirks. 2.      Are all main characters well developed and are they acting true to their intended nature 3.      Is the main character sympathetic to the reader and is he someone you and the reader can understand and relate to 4.      Does the main character have a compelling enough goal that failure to meet would lead to some kind of tragic loss 5.      Does the main character change into a better, worse or a more mature person by the end of the story 6.      Pay close attention to what the characters are seeing and feeling. 7.      Make sure of the appearance and disappearance of characters. Make it logical. 8.      Make sure that characters still look and act the same way.
Setting	1.      Is it spread in sprinklings all through the story or is it overloaded in one place. 2.      Is the description done by showing the characters experience of it rather than just telling us what everything looks like.
Dialogue	1.      If it doesn’t drive the plot forward, provide information about the characters or show the relationship between characters – kill it. Don’t write in complete grammatical sentences. 2.      Is it believable 3.      Get rid of most of the chitchat and social niceties 4.      Instead of using dialogue tags instead just start the action immediately. 5.      Start a new line even if one character doesn’t talk 6.      Freeze the conversation with a few sentences of prose 7.      Ellipses show the characters trailing off and dashes to show the characters being cut off by another 8.      For each conversation you provide, each character must have his/her voice. Don’t use difficult words for a farm boy.
Description	1.      Replace abstract nouns like she was happy with an action like she smiled. 2.      Is it vivid and vibrant 3.      It must be balanced with dialogue and  narration 4.      Do all scenes use all the five senses. 5.      In any particular paragraph not more than three senses should be used otherwise you’re just overdoing it.
Writing Style	1.      Delete adjectives 2.      Replace adverbs with stronger verbs like spoke quietly with whispered 3.      Delete weak qualifiers like really, very, rather, little, somewhat, extremely, quite. 4.      For overused words check for synonyms. You can use the find feature to check for overused words and phrases. 5.      Replace Negatives i.e. Mary didn’t like Tom instead use a positive like Mary hated Tom, Overused words with synonyms and Abstract words like happy, angry with actions that display the emotion 6.      Replace passive voices like she was eaten to active voice like the shark ate her. 7.      Delete clichés 8.      Check if you have the same reactions for different characters when experiencing the same emotion. Both Lila and Cameron should not run their hands through their hair when they’re angry.
Grammar	1.      Check punctuation 2.      Check spellings, autocheck is not enough. 3.      Cut down over clunky sentences by reducing their length. 4.      Make sure the tense is the same throughout your novel. 5.      Vary sentence, paragraph, scene and chapter lengths
Title	1.      You don’t have to come up with a title immediately but its always good to have a standby 2.      Has it been used before 3.      Is it appropriate to the genre; imagine a horror novel titled ‘How to be happy’. The audience you’re targeting will wonder if you went a bit nutty like your characters. 4.      Does it attract attention
Formatting	1.      Does it meet the publisher’s demands on font, spacing, margins. If not then move on to two 2.      Font size 12 and justified text. 3.      Font color black 4.      1 inch margins, and double spacing between paragraphs (no extra spaces between). 5.      First line of each paragraph indented by ½ an inch.

The Basics of Free Writing

When free writing;

1.      Give yourself a time limit of 30 – 60 minutes or a minimum word count.

2.      Keep your hand moving during this whole time limit. Do not pause to read what you’ve written.

3.      Write in a way that is most comfortable for you. If you type faster than you write; type. If vice versa then you know what to do.

4.      Choose an environment that is the least distracting for you and that you know helps you concentrate. Some people love the idea of being in a coffee shop with people milling around others just want to be locked in a room all alone with nothing but their computer.  As long as it works.

5.      Switch off your internal editor. Knock yourself out with the spelling mistakes, bad grammar, adverbs, metaphors and clichés, no one cares (at least not right now).

6.      Stop the research. I’ve been a culprit of this many times i.e. using research as an excuse for writing. Believe me during your first draft you need only the information you used in creating your synopses. If you don’t know the Israeli name for that new flat Mossad agent just name him Moses, highlight it with blue or underline and move on, you can sort him out later.

7.      And for Christ sake; Stay away from facebook, twitter, yahoo or your blog

Sample Mystery Plot Outline

1	Disclose crime (Some choose to make the crime a whole prologue from the point of view of the victim or the perpetrator) in the most dramatic way possible. Reveal a clue but don’t bring attention to it Introduce detective Introduce Setting
2	Start the detective on the path to solving the crime by remembering the clue that was notice in chapter one or introducing one. Select suspects and start out interviewing, either obtrusively or unobtrusively. One of them should turn out to be the criminal later on in the story.
3	Introduce a subplot that affects another part of the sleuth’s life (a new friend, an enemy or higher in rank sleuth, a friend who kisses her complicating their relationship, a sister who reappears). Reveal facts about some suspects Find a few more clues that may eliminate one or two suspects but brings one suspect to the forefront
4	Interview the forefront suspect Find a clue that shows he/she lie or testimony from other suspects who is also now eliminated Make the forefront suspect disappear, runaway or die
5	Everything points to the missing suspect but the detective just feels it doesn’t feel right plus there are some clues that are still unexplained Provide a climax for a subplot that distracts the sleuth from solving the crime, makes the crime personal or demands that they stop the investigation or a crisis with the crime itself
6	Now the investigator has a personal stake in solving the crime as a result of the previous crisis(either threat to his life, loved one, emotional attachment). Broaden the investigation to put suspicion on other suspects. Start to focus your clues towards your solution though try not to make it obvious.
7	Reveal shocking histories, unexpected characters coming to town, shocking revelations, formerly secret relationships e.g business arrangements, affairs, hidden kinships, and scores to settle. Clarify previous clues that had not been understood. Missing suspect is found (either dead, in a coma or unwilling to talk) but either way is automatically eliminated
8	Interpretation of found clues leads to a dead end and the sleuth has to review to determine where he/she went wrong making all left suspects equally able to have committed the crime. New clues are only complicating the mystery and not helping in its solution i.e. throw in a twist (e.g. the food isn’t what poisoned the victim). Resolve one of the sub – plots. Remember the clue in chapter one that skipped us and add to what the sleuth knows so far. Sleuth makes a conclusion which is undisclosed to the reader
9	The sleuth seeks evidence to support the as yet undisclosed conclusion. Two suspects left (you may reveal or not reveal). Sleuth finds something (perhaps it proves that the flimsy alibi of the prime suspect is actually valid). Criminal and the other suspect turns up where sleuth is trying to find evidence.
10	Dramatic confrontation between sleuth and criminal which the detective will win either by the timely entrance of his best friend who he’d called before, the cops

Creating Scenes & Sequel Outlines

The scene and sequel is the smallest unit of a novel that contains all the elements necessary for a story. They contain emotion, action, dialogue, characters, conflict and setting. The scene is a physical story action (all about doing) while the sequel is a mental story action (all about thinking)

The scene is a reaction to a sequel while the sequel is a reaction to the scene. Dividing your novel into scenes will help you out when it comes to revising your novel because editing, cutting up and rearranging your novel will be that much easier. The scenes and sequels are meant to advance the plot and develop the characters.

Only the most critical characters appear in the scene and in each the setting is well developed so that at that particular moment the reader is in that place with the POV character. The POV character is the person who is going to be doing the acting or taking part in it. Do not clog a scene with a lot of backstory or flashbacks because it will slow down the pace of the story. Save it for the sequel.

The scene requires full Technicolor details and moment to moment progression so that the reader feels like what is happening is happening in real time or ‘live’. It should never be about telling, no gossip sessions here please. Scenes in the plot have four basic parts.

a)      What does the POV character want at the beginning of the scene.

b)      Create an obstacle/conflict that prevents them from reaching their goal

c)      Does the POV character reach their goal or not

d)      Get the goal or not get the goal – either way there’s a catch. Disaster strikes causing an unexpected and larger problem for the character

The scene will immediately be followed by a sequel. The sequel allows the reader and the POV character to collect himself and to deal with the disaster from the scene. Its purpose is to change a disaster into a goal. It creates a transition from the frantic feelings of action to the calm aspects of having made a decision. Here you can drop in some back-story to explain the character traits we saw shown in the scenes.

Though critical, the sequels are shorter than the scenes in genres that require a faster pace such as a thriller. It may even appear just at the beginning of a scene. In romance novels the sequels are much longer than the scenes. This is because the pace of a sequel is much slower and has a high amount of introspection. There are three basic parts of a sequel.

a)      The POV reaction to the disaster. Is he angry, shocked, happy or sad? This allows the reader to tap into the emotions of the scene. The character takes the time to regroup. Its all about sheer emotion.

b)      The POV character begins to worry over how they can solve the disaster because they cannot remain in this status quo. The character begins to go over his/her options though technically he/she has no good choices as they all have side effects. This stage is characterized by thoughts.

c)      A decision is made of how to deal with the issue at hand and immediately another scene is launched.

Scene – sequel – scene – sequel… the pattern goes till at the climax the worst disaster is dealt with and there are no more disaster. The story ends. Writing in scenes and sequels makes sure that you write action/reaction scenes that move at a better pace and are rational to the reader.

Not every scene needs a sequel though. If the character does not need to make a decision you don’t need a sequel. It is possible to put two scenes back to back especially in thrillers where introspection must be limited. Take for example in Scene 15, Ryder has just gotten rid of the faramtulas only to discover that they were guarding a Bergonof. The Bergonof roars. Scene 16 cannot start with Ryder thinking of ‘oh what a terrible terrible thing. This Berganof is really scary’. No! Dude needs to start running.   

Outlining Your Novel

The outline is the story plan. Outlining is the process of setting out the events that will lead to the protagonist meeting his/her goal. Some writers advice that you fly by the seat of your pants and pray to God that everything falls into place. Some genres like mystery cannot work with this kind of style because they require structuring to avoid forgetting. The more planning you do in the beginning, the less rewriting you’ll have to do.

Once you have your character charts, you will be able to figure out exactly what your character would do is presented with a challenge. Outlining your book before you begin writing allows you to escape the writers block because the moment you begin writing you already have the building blocks. With an outline you will be able to;

a)      Know what happens next and if it makes sense so that you’ll have no dead ends.

b)      It is a foundation for your first draft and makes it less intimidating to start writing. 

c)      Figure out any plot holes or character actions

You don’t need to develop a magnificent outline. Just a basic list will do. Over-outlining may suck all the joy of writing and curb spontaneity. Furthermore it becomes harder to cut scenes because you have put so much effort into them. Some people simply outline by using a word document with an active table of contents so that they click and they see what could happen in the scene. Otherwise choose to use flashcards that allow them to organize and reorganize the scenes while providing a physical connection.

View Point Character

This the person through whom the story will be told. Often but not all the time the view point character is the protagonist. The choice of your view point character will influence how the reader seas the story. A child and an adult will not see a death in the family the same way. A woman and a man will not see a case of infidelity in the same way. The VP character can be the difference between people siding with your theme or thinking of you as preachy.

The viewpoint character has to be someone who;

a)      Has the most to lose

b)      Is the most interesting and the reader can relate to them. People sympathize with people who have rounded characters and are going to grow with the story. Even the villain can be a VP character especially if you integrate some back-story that explains to the reader what their motives were.

c)      Is present during the action scenes other wise what’s the point.

d)      Is involved in the action or is doing the action. An observer won’t be as invested in a car chase as the person who is being chased. 

e)      Will be around the plot for a lot longer than that particular scene. By giving him/her a voice you are allowing us into the deeper recesses of the personality. There’s no need to get so up close and personal if you’re not going to let us enjoy him/her for sometime. The view point character must be someone who’s actions/crisis will be resolved by the end of the story.

Single VP Character

When a writer uses a single VP character it means that there is a consistent viewpoint throughout the story whether it is in first person or third person narrative. Short fiction works and Children’s stories will often feature just one viewpoint character to allow them connect with that character completely. It is thus suitable for works with less than twelve characters and a fairly liner plot.

Using a single VP could cause the reader to feel a little bit claustrophobic because they are stuck in the head of one person the whole time plus they are restricted from the motivations of the other characters.

Multiple VP Characters

In this case the VP character switches from scene to scene. The multiple VP is used in longer works where a Single VP will become monotonous. It is also used to introduce danger that the main protagonist isn’t aware of or to present a different viewpoint of the same situation.

Despite the freedom that multiple view points offer, resist the urge to have too many two to four characters is often enough to move the plot of the book. An unlimited number of VP characters decreases the intimacy between your character and the reader and thus the emotional impact of your story.

Make sure that the scenes that the protagonist has the floor are the most compelling and emotional ones. You don’t want the audience rooting for the bad guy because when you were there you did such a good job of explaining his motivations that the reader now feels like he really should be allowed to get away with stealing the crown jewels.

Try to maintain a consistent pattern of switches of POV. Do not switch viewpoints in the middle of a scene. Head hopping jars the reader out of their comfort zone and they have to readjust their emotions to suit the new guy. Instantly the connection you had tried so hard to create is broken. Instead switch at the beginning of a fresh chapter, a break within a chapter or a scene. When switching viewpoints make sure it is obvious from the first line who your view point character is at a particular point.

Narrative Point of View

First Person POV The story is told in ‘I’ or ‘we’. It is an intimate POV that makes the reader feel like they are the character’s best friend and are able to experience the characters private, thoughts and feelings. It is particularly attractive to young readers who get to live in the character’s mind. It has the lure of gossip. The story is told completely from the narrator’s point of view and anything he is not able to see, touch, smell, taste or hear can only be introduced courtesy of conversations with other characters. This can restrict the author’s ability to move the story. Also if the character has a particular gender it may restrict the kind of readers who will enjoy it because they may not be able to identify with them.

Second Person POV The story is told in ‘you’ form. The reader feels as if the narrator is speaking directly to them or that the story is happening to them. Very few fiction writers use this POV because of its jarring effect.

Third Person POV It uses ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘they’. There are many options available for choosing the view point character because you can choose to follow only one character or you can switch the view point character any time. Most fiction is written in third person and therefore it feels natural to the reader. It is much easier to get into action when using third person POV.

Omniscient POV The difference between the omniscient POV and the other POVs is that in this case the story isn’t told through the eyes of someone but rather from up above. Like the third person POV he/she is used. It gives the writer a chance to explore the setting without being restricted by how the characters see it.  Fairytales have long been written in this style. The narrator may take time to delve into the feelings of the characters but like a person who is just observing them thus allowing objectivity.

Falling Action

Basically this where the knots tied during the climax are untied. The protagonist now has to deal with effects of the confrontation with the antagonists. Camilla and Rhett have escaped the evil dictator and blown wide his operation and rescued their kid. Now for the reuniting phase - After building the makeshift boat they get to dry land and Camilla has to figure out how to deal with her sister for her betrayal. The falling action will include confessions and tying up the loose ends.

The falling action will often appear at the end of the story. The temptation is usually to hasten this stage of the writing. I urge you to resist. It will only create disappointment in the reader after you have put in so much effort into the writing.

After the climax what happens to the main character and to the rest of the characters? A good writer knows the resolution of the plot even before they start on the complications and crisis. The damsel in distress has been saved, the dictator has abdicated the throne to the revolutions and we are saying good-bye to out characters. Show them enjoying the fruits of their labor. Will they be coming back?

Climax

Recharge over!  Usually this is courtesy of introspection or a good talk from a close friend or mentor. By the end of which the protagonist decides he is not going down easily. The villain is going to get the fight of his life. He she makes a plan that we’re all crossing our fingers will succeed to crash or find the villain.

The villain isn’t going down smiling either and has a back up plan ready when he is confronted putting the protagonist in some kind of danger. There is a god awful fight that could go either way. In this phase of plot structure you need to create the kind of suspense that will push your character to the edge.

Inability to overcome this issue will lead to some sort of deep loss. Loss of freedom, life, family, mind, fortune or even career will probably cause a deep scar on your character. At the end, the protagonist gets to give the knockout punch after successfully extricating himself/herself from the crisis. For tragedies however, the climax will mean a defeat for the protagonist along with the expected loss and return to a kind of uneasy normality for the antagonist.

The climax will often appear at the end of the story.

Complications

These are the list the events that temporarily keep the main character from getting to his goal or from solving their conflict. These events may also change the nature of the conflict and the characters goal.  At this point the protagonist begins to deal with the issues that have arisen because of the large log you just threw across their path. It may include the log getting bigger than they originally though it was, the log multiplying itself and giving birth to little babies that the protagonist has to jump over to get to their personal goal.

Good conflicts will often take the reader by surprise because of the sudden mini crises they throw into the works. Something will happen that the reader was not in the least bit expecting. Creating this kind of suspense means that you’ll need to create scenes that bring up emotions of surprise, shock, fear, anxiety or excitement. They keep the reader on edge. You can create suspense by introducing.

a)      A ticking clock – if the heroine doesn’t do something by a certain time life as we know it will burst into flames and make it seem like it is uncertain that the she can beat the clock.

b)      Withhold crucial information from the character but let the audience know it. Now let’s just wait for Jun to discover that his boss really isn’t dead.

c)      Keep the characters emotion on high alert (sweaty palms, racing heart …you know all those panic symptoms) as if they just know something is going to happen.  You can do this by making the setting somehow creepy.

d)      Place the characters in a situation where they are up to their eyeballs in trouble and just need to get out of it. Anything they do however just keeps getting them deeper into trouble.

e)      Change the reveal into something unexpected. The police are coming (I can hear the sirens from a distance) we know Greg is going to be caught. There’s knocking on the door – of course it’s the police. Open the door – surprise – Its just his mom. The stupid police confused the neighbors house for his and arrest that unlucky guy instead.

f)       Give it an open ending i.e. the resolution could go either way. If the police are at the door she could be arrested or direct them to the real killer who is her son or she could just make a run for it.

g)      Kill off one of your beloved characters – painful but effective

There are numerous plot twists out there including an accident, celebration interruptus, hidden relatives, someone is discovered to be evil, discovery of a secret,

You are basically throwing stones at your character at this point. He may miss a few or get hit by a few (but not enough to knock him off the tree). In this phase the protagonist and the villain are getting equal winning and losing time. The characters reaction and solution to the complications you throw their way should match the personality you gave them.

At the end of the complications phase the mini crises and are temporarily solved but there is an increasingly rising tension as the complications become worse and worse. For instance Marie loses her memory as a result of an accident, someone turns up claiming to be her lost brother, turns out the ‘brother’ is on the run from the police, Marie is charged an accessory to whatever crime, her ‘brother’ turns out dead and all the fingerprints point out to her, unexplained amounts of money turn up in her account that she deposited prior to her amnesia…I could go on and on.

The last complication is often the biggest obstacle to the character’s goal. It is unclear whether your main character will or will not reach their goal. Failing could be disastrous and cause the main character’s downfall. There’s a high likelihood that we may not make it (gasp!) but if we don’t climb this mountain the monsters chasing behind us will eat us up. It can’t be anything that we can easily resolve in fact even the reader is just as stumped as the protagonists. It will usually end in a temporary fail for the protagonist – the Black Moment.

The black moment will often force the protagonist to take some time off to recharge.

Point of Action

Some time ago, writers would start with long bits of exposition about the main character before they introduced the conflict. Unfortunately we are now in the instant age. Writers these days seldom have the leisure of waxing lyrical. Readers want their action within the first chapter. You’ll have to use this action scene to also show some of your character’s traits.

This is the beginning of the book; it’s not the beginning of the story. The character is perfectly safe in the status quo until something happens that throws his/her life completely off kilter. It is the point at which the tension begins and your character is suddenly thrust into a situation where their goal is threatened and your story objective is introduced. The basics are;

a)      The point of action has to immediately grab the reader’s attention. Start the book off with some startling action; a scene that is exciting, terrifying or shocking.

b)      Provide vivid descriptions of the setting so that the reader is grounded somewhere.

c)      By the end of the first chapter of your book, the reader needs to be able to identify 5 – 10 things about the main character(s).

d)      Give the reader something to worry about. What’s going to happen to the heroine? Will she run away from the scene that makes her look like a murderer or will the police arrest her?

e)      You’ll probably have to interweave parts of the back-story into the initial chapters so that your readers can understand their motivations, fears and personality and immediately form a bond. However do not introduce the back story in the first chapter and in the first few pages it should be brief and tie directly to the scene.

For instance your character just wants to safely deliver their new designs to a client. You want them to solve a murder. They can either come in by offering themselves as amateur investigators or you can drag them into the story kicking and screaming i.e. the body is stored in the boot of their car next to the designs and they are the main suspect.

Conflict

A character who wants something isn't in conflict...he's a spoilt brat. Real conflict is about need, thirst, hunger. Conflict appears when your character believes that whatever they are searching for will return their world as it should be. Failure to achieve their goal will have dire consequences; the sky will come tumbling down and the earth will open. Meeting their goal is not as easy as sitting down to have a talk about the issue or pulling a sword from a rock and plunging it into a rock. Oh No! For one the hero doesn't even know how to handle a sword. The sword itself is in possession of some guy who thinks the hero is the only link to the underworld. To make matters worse the hero has issues with change and really does not feel like setting off for the expedition. Till his wife disappears. Gasp!

Conflict heightens the tension in the story and keeps the reader glued the story as they wait for your hero to resolve it. It can be internal (goal against personal values, weaknesses, beliefs) or external ( charcater against another character, nature, society, machines or supernatural forces). To create a viable conflict

1.      Revise the objective you had created for your character when coming up with your LOCK conducive idea and your 

2. List things that could prevent your character from reaching their goals be it internal or external issues i.e. an external conflict for a detective who is trying to solve a murder is missing evidence, tainted evidence, lying witnesses, interfering family members. Internal conflict would be the fact that this murder is so much like his mother's so he is getting way too emotional about it.
3. Assess your list to make sure you have a good conflict i.e. it will evoke some kind of reaction in your readers (pity, fear, shock), that it is pressing enough and the character cannot avoid dealing with it. resolving the conflict will not be easy - the character will have to expend some mental, emotional and physical energy to deal with it.  
4. Check to make sure that the conflict can be resolved. There is no point pitting Flesurias against an earthquake that he can't predict, prevent or protect himself from. Your hero must have reasonable opportunity to resolve the conflict but also equal probability of not resolving it.

At this stage of novel writing you will only need to create about three types of conflict but as your plot line develops you can create conflict from every decision the protagonist makes. Of course your primary conflict will depend on the genre of your novel. Romance novels will by nature require an romantic conflict, high fantasy will require conflict involving fighting and man against supernatural forces king of conflict. Sometimes you may have more than one main conflict but be prepared for a much longer and episodic novel.

Take note however that there is such a thing as 'Oh My God' overload and after a while the readers will get bored. To avoid this; The number of conflicts should not be more than what you can count on one finger.  Try to vary the kind of internal conflict for your main characters. Both John and Beth shouldn't be cynical about love.

Have Fun getting your little darling into trouble

Thriller Tropes

The Villain

a)      Masterminds - This guy has too much money, too much time, too many minions to do his evil deeds, too many women at his beck and call and too many grudges for his own good. often his goal is to take over the whole world or annihilate it.

b)      The Government Guy or a group of government guys who are the picture of honor to the outside world but are busy brewing conspiracy, assassination or extortion cocktails. He could also be so high up in the government that he is not even bothering to cover up his tracks anymore and someone’s got to stop him.

c)      The Star – okay he’s the bad guy (evil) but we can totally understand why he’s doing everything he can and our loyalty is split between the villain and the hero.

d)      The Femme Fatale with a body like Madonna, a brain like Einstein and a heart of evil making men susceptible to her before she traps them in her web. Even the hero is a little bit enthralled by this siren.

e)      Double Agent – his playing both sides and has connections with the mob, the cops, the government and everyone that has a phone. And still no one has figured out who he is.

The Hero

a)      Ex-government guy who despite all the crap he’s gone through with the government is still patriotic to the bone. He or she is a loner with unsolved past issues. He may be forced to solve the crime with a team of people he doesn’t like or has no intention of working with.

b)      Mistaken identity by the villain has forced the hero into hide and seek mode.

The Plot

a)      Conspiracy – the initial crime can be incongruous, insignificant or high profile. It quickly degenerates into something much bigger than the protagonist thought it was and everyone is involved. The conspiracy can be intellectual, political, economical, religious, ethnic or alien.

b)      Psychological – the character cannot rely on physical strength or gadgets to beat the enemy but rather on using their brains. It involves a lot of mind games. Often the villain is extremely kooky. There may be a few hushed phone-calls, secret notes, find a clue at this time or someone’s going to get killed.

c)      Spy Fiction – there’s a professional spy or a not so professional one. There’s glamour, cool gadgets, blood and danger.