MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More (8 page)

25 MOTIVES FOR MURDER

For your thriller or mystery to ring true, your killer needs to have a reason for doing what he does. A motive will also enable the good guys to catch him. There are lots of reasons why people kill. Some killers may have more than one motive, and some of these motives work for serial killers.

This list may seem morbid, but hey, we writers sometimes need these things! There’s a reason why we hope nobody looks at our browser histories, right?

1. A physical fight turns deadly. Either the killer loses control, or she accidentally inflicts more damage than she intended.
   
2. The murderer kills the victim in order to steal from her.
   
3. The victim of a robbery or rape puts up a fight, and the struggle ends in his death.
   
4. The victim was the witness to a crime.
   
5. A spouse or child murders the victim to claim the insurance money or to inherit the estate.
   
6. The victim is murdered by a spouse or family member who is sick of his verbal or physical abuse.
   
7. A spouse wants out of a marriage, but he doesn’t want to pay alimony, or have others think he was a bad person. He commits the murder as a means of “instant divorce.”
   
8. The murderer kills his mistress or girlfriend because she is pregnant. Maybe he is married to another woman and doesn’t want his wife to find out about the affair, or maybe he doesn’t want to be burdened with a child.
   

1. The killer wants to eliminate his rival in romance, politics, or some other competition.
   
2. The killer believes the victim personally wronged her—by ridiculing her, firing her, ending their friendship, or “stealing” her man. Note that this grudge might go way back. Also, the supposed injustice may be all in the killer’s imagination.
   
3. The victim personally wronged someone the killer loved. He might have raped the killer’s sister, for instance, or financially ruined the killer’s father. The killer might be exacting justice after the legal system failed to do so.
   
4. A boyfriend or husband murders the victim after flying into a jealous rage over a real or suspected infidelity.
   
5. The victim reminds the murderer of someone who rejected him.
   
6. The killer gets sexually aroused by murdering women or men to whom he is attracted.
   
7. In the murderer’s mind, she is doing the victim a favor by killing him—because he is suffering on earth, or because he’s bound for eternal bliss.
   
8. The murderer hates the victim’s politics, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. He may see himself as a crusader.
   
9. The killer believes the victim is possessed by a demon. Note that if you are writing a horror or paranormal story, the killer may be correct.
   

1. The murder is a result of a drug deal gone bad.
   
2. The guilty party murders his wife or child so that people will feel sorry for his loss.
   
3. The killer feels inferior, and the murder makes him feel powerful and important.
   
4. The killer commits a murder in order to frame someone close to the victim and destroy that person’s life.
   
5. The victim’s life seems perfect—and the murderer is obsessed with the unfairness of this.
   
6. A spouse, parent, or child murders a family member because he requires an extraordinary amount of caretaking.
   
7. The murderer actually mistakes the victim for his real intended target.
   
8. The killer is an amoral monster who wants to know what it feels like to kill somebody.
   

25 REASONS TO MOVE TO A NEW TOWN

Leo Tolstoy once said, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” I don’t know if this is true, but there are many wonderful books and movies about these two things. That’s why I created a list of reasons to move to a new town, and you could also write about the journey there.

1. She’s going to college in this new town, or she might be a foreign exchange student.
   
2. He just landed a new job there, or his company transferred him to this office. Maybe he thinks it will be a nice place to live. On the other hand, maybe he thinks the town is a dump, but he has no other prospects.
   
3. Her fiancé or husband got a job there. Maybe they arrive together, or maybe they have been doing the long-distance thing for a while.
   
4. He’s looking for a new job. If you want to work in his field, this is the place to be.
   
5. She thinks this town is the perfect place to start her bed and breakfast, coffee shop, or other dream business.
   
6. Even though she’s from a small town, she’s always dreamed of life in the big city.
   
7. Even though he was born and raised in a bustling metropolis, he’s always fantasized about an idyllic life in the country.
   
8. His aging parents live there, and he’s moving close by so he can look after them.
   

1. Her siblings or parents live there, and she’s a single parent who could use their help with the kids.
   
2. Her sister’s or daughter’s family lives there, and she wants to be a part of the kids’ lives.
   
3. He wants to get as far away from his family as possible, because they are unbearable.
   
4. Her parents died, and she is moving back to her hometown to get the house ready for sale—or maybe live in it.
   
5. He moved after a terrible scandal or a crime. Maybe he even changed his name.
   
6. She moved after a painful breakup. There’s no avoiding her ex in that little town!
   
7. Something awful happened to him and he wants to put all those terrible memories behind him.
   
8. She thinks this is a better place to raise her kids.
   
9. She’s sick of living in a cramped apartment and wants to move to a place with a lower cost of living where she can afford a house.
   
10. He feels as though he will never meet the woman of his dreams in that tiny hometown—or in that snobbish suburb.
    
11. She’s had it with winter. She was made for this sunny climate.
    
12. He won’t be there forever, but has a work assignment —an environmental study, a consulting gig, or a political campaign to run.
    

1. She won’t be there forever, but she’s on a long vacation. Maybe her friend is letting her stay at the beach cottage or city loft for the summer.
   
2. She or her kid is sick, and needs to be closer to a particular hospital or treatment center.
   
3. He just needs a shorter commute. He’s tired of driving in from the neighboring town.
   
4. Her last house was flattened by a hurricane or tornado. That’s not likely to happen in this part of the country.
   
5. He used to live there, as a kid, a student, or a young man, and he always regretted moving away.
   

25 REASONS FOR INITIAL ATTRACTION (Besides Good Looks)

If your character becomes interested in somebody, it’s nice if there is a reason besides or in addition to physical attractiveness. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with big brown eyes or an athletic physique. Most people like those things! But that’s exactly the point: there’s nothing special there. It doesn’t tell the reader,
Oh my gosh, these two were
made
for each other.

So here are 25 reasons why your character might sit up straight and take notice of someone. Some of these might work for the beginning of a great friendship as well.

1. In a roomful of vulgar guys, he seems polite and dignified.
   
2. In a roomful of uptight snobs, she seems like a loveable goofball.
   
3. He loves the same obscure author, game, or rock band.
   
4. She makes hilarious jokes.
   
5. He’s the only one who seems to get her jokes.
   
6. She’s shy...and he thinks that’s cute.
   
7. He’s gregarious and puts everyone at ease...and that impresses her.
   
8. They have an experience in common: they both grew up on farms, or they both went to Burning Man.
   
9. He’s impressed by how important her faith is to her.
   
10. She’s impressed by how dedicated to his work he seems to be.
    

1. His casual comment makes her think about something in a new way.
   
2. Her voice is sexy.
   
3. She is pretty clearly a brainiac.
   
4. He has an amazing sense of personal style.
   
5. He has an amazing accent.
   
6. When she smiles, her joy lights up the whole room.
   
7. He’s nice to her pet or her kid.
   
8. She’s animated when she speaks and uses her hands a lot. It’s cute.
   
9. He has an impressive random talent.
   
10. She stands up for herself.
    
11. He stands up for a cause she believes in.
    
12. She seems intense and mysterious.
    
13. He’s in uniform.
    
14. She smells fantastic.
    
15. He has the same hopes and dreams as she does...whatever they may be.
    

4. ACTION

Most of us believe that “actions speak louder than words.” No matter what we think or say, what we do says the most about us. The same holds true for the characters in our stories.

Screenwriters, in particular, need to tell their stories through actions as much as words. While some people enjoy introspective, talky films, most audiences want to see things happen.

This section deals with scenes that involve much more action than talk. It also covers ways that people reveal their feelings without stating them directly. Some of these do involve dialogue, but most of them don’t. Finally, it lays out different ways that people respond to extreme situations.

500 GREAT WORDS FOR ACTION SCENES

Fistfights and battles, chases and escapes, shootouts and swordplay, flying leaps and crashing cars... Action scenes challenge writers to create compelling choreography, arresting visuals, and visceral character reactions. Here is a thesaurus for writing scenes that will get your readers’ hearts pumping. You might even find good inspiration here for the title of your next adrenaline-fueled project. Let’s do this!

VERBS

advance

aim

ambush

assault

attack

bail

balance

bang

barrel

bash

batter

battle

beat

bellow

bite

blast

bleed

blind

block

bludgeon

bombard

bounce

brace

breach

break

bullet

burn

burst

bust

butt

careen

catch

challenge

charge

chase

choke

chop

clamp

claw

cleave

climb

cling

clutch

cock

collapse

collide

combust

command

commandeer

corner

cover

cower

crack

crash

crawl

crouch

crumble

crumple

crunch

crush

cuff

cut

dangle

dart

decimate

defeat

defend

defy

deliver

demand

demolish

destroy

dig

dispatch

distract

ditch

dive

divert

dodge

dominate

drag

drift

drip

drive

duck

duel

elbow

electrocute

emerge

evade

exchange

explode

face

fall

falter

fight

fire

flank

flare

flee

fling

flip

fly

follow

force

freeze

gasp

ghost

glare

glide

gouge

grab

grapple

grasp

graze

grimace

grin

grind

grip

growl

grunt

guard

hack

hammer

hang

haul

hijack

hit

hoist

hook

hover

hunt

hurl

hurt

hurtle

ignite

impale

improvise

incinerate

jab

jam

jockey

jump

kick

knee

knock

lacerate

land

lasso

laugh

launch

leap

lift

light up

lob

loom

lurch

maim

maneuver

mangle

mash

mount

obliterate

overcome

overpower

overturn

pant

paralyze

parry

pierce

pivot

plant

plow

plummet

plunge

poke

pounce

pound

propel

protect

pry

pull

pulverize

pummel

pump

punch

puncture

push

race

rage

ram

rear-end

recoil

reel

regain

retrieve

revive

ricochet

rise

roar

roll

ruin

run

rush

sail

save

scoop

scowl

scramble

scrape

scratch

scream

screech

scuttle

sever

shake

shatter

shear

shield

shift

shoot

shout

shove

shred

shudder

singe

skid

skim

slam

slap

slash

slice

slide

sling

slip

smack

smash

smear

snap

snarl

sneak

sneer

somersault

spin

spit

splay

sprawl

sprint

square off

squash

squeal

squeeze

squish

stab

stagger

stalk

stall

stand

startle

steal

stick

sting

stomp

storm

straddle

strain

strangle

stride

strike

struggle

stumble

stun

surround

swagger

sway

sweep

swing

swipe

swoop

take apart

tangle

taunt

tear

tense

thrash

throb

throttle

throw

thrust

thwart

topple

toss

totter

trace

track

trade

trail

transform

trap

tremble

trickle

trip

tumble

twist

unleash

upend

vanquish

vault

veer

whip

whirl

wield

wrap

wrest

wrestle

yank

zigzag

zoom