Behind The Mask

VI. Action

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Action
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You'd be hard pressed to find a thriller that doesn't include a fair amount of action-adventure elements. Action doesn't necessarily have to mean violence or pyrotechnics. If your thriller is more cerebral, your action might revolve around psychological games and manipulation. The important thing is to keep your storyline moving and include dynamic action as you start writing the first page up until the end.

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This part of the tips is kinda exciting to explain. It says that Thriller stories don't necessarily need to have plenty of action scenes, it doesn't have to have violence every minute of the story, hindi naman kailangan puro patayan na, na bawat chapter may gore. No. Sabi nga rin dito, kung iyong story mo ay cerebral or more on intellectual rather than physical and emotional, ay ayos lang. Hindi naman porque thriller required na ang gore scenes, at some point, yes of course, but it doesn't need to revolve the story around murders. And if your Thriller story is cerebral, it includes psychological games and manipulation nga-the perfect example for this siguro ay iyong Saw Series.

I actually haven't finished it yet, nasa Saw IV pa rin ako but then as we can see, since Saw I, cerebral na talaga 'yong movies. Jigsaw is always playing with the victims before he kill them, lagi siyang may mga laro o challenge sa kanila para malagpasan nila iyong naghihintay na gore scenes sa kanila. Given the fact that Jigsaw knows no mercy, he wants them to think first before they speak, he wants them to analyze their situation first before they move. So basically, kailangang maging critical thinker ng mga biktima kung gusto nilang makatakas. Minsan may mga kasama silang biktima na either ililigtas nila o uunahin nila ang sarili nila, and that's a very difficult decision to do especially if those people are close with them-dito na papasok iyong manipulation. It's nice to think that the Saw movies are perfect for this element.

In this case, you are the manipulator of your protagonist, the author himself/herself is the antagonist in the story kasi nga siyempre pahihirapan mo sila. Idaan mo muna sila sa isang mahaba at mahirap na proseso bago mo patayin, bago mo i-murder para mas dama iyong thrill. But of course, like what I always say, it must be relevant to the story. Don't kill a character just because you want, just because you want to annoy the readers more, do it because it's supposed to happen.

And what's important naman is that your story is moving, iis progressing, the plot should be dynamic. Kumbaga isakay mo sa roller coaster 'yong mga readers mo (not literally, iyong different emotions) para hindi sila ma-bored, to keep the chapters interesting. P'wede na rito ipasok 'yong cliffhangers and red herrings. Don't make it static na puro na lang murder, wala nang natutunan sa kuwento, wala nang saysay 'yong kuwento, hindi na naipakita kung bakit pumapatay iyong isang character. Dapat may emotional quotient para balanse iyong understanding at emotions ng readers. Make them understand the backstory behind all those killings, so that they can realize something because if not, you're influencing your readers to do such thing.

For more understanding about "action doesn't necessarily have to mean violence or pyrotechnics. If your thriller is more cerebral, your action might revolve around psychological games and manipulation", try to watch Saw movies (only if you have a strong stomach).

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Sources of information:
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-bestselling-thriller-novel

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. Thank you.