Earlier this week I shared my list of 14 Murder Motives. Now, I’d like to share a popular list of 8 Basic Plots for books, movies, and other tales. There’s been a lot of discussion over exactly how many plots there are, ranging from just 1 to over 40, but this is the list I like best. What books and movies can you think of that fit into each category?
PLOT 1 - CINDERELLA
The protagonist’s true potential for happiness and fulfilment is at last realised after many ups and downs.
PLOT 2 - ACHILLES
The fatal flaw of the main character.
PLOT 3 - FAUST
The debt that must be repaid when fate finally catches up with you, as Faust did when making a deal with the devil.
PLOT 4 - TRISTAN
The eternal triangle.
PLOT 5 - CIRCE
The spider and the fly.
PLOT 6 - ROMEO AND JULIET
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again (put these in any order you like).
People Magazine gave HAND ME DOWN 3.5/4 stars, and Publisher’s Weekly described it as “an intriguing first outing by a talented new writer.” HAND ME DOWN is about a series of family betrayals that propels fourteen-year-old Liz Reid across California and Utah on a dark journey of broken promises and dangerous secrets as she searches for a safe home for herself and her sister. Author Pam Houston says, “Hand Me Down is a compelling, intelligently contemporized version of a traditional coming of age story,” and I can personally vouch for it being sad, strong, evocative as hell, and all together terrific.
Melanie won the Maurice Prize in Fiction at UC Davis, an award that I created and named after my father. She’ll be joining me for a book signing at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Tuesday, April 24th- I hope that you can make it!
I hope you get a laugh out of this video of my tapdancing skills! My dance “partner” in this video is Joan Hansen, founder and guru of Men of Mystery. This year’s Men of Mystery conference, on November 17, will feature me and James Rollins. Check out the event information here!
Last month, I held a poll to see who you thought would be the best Abe Glitsky. Now I want to know who you would cast as Wyatt Hunt! My vote is for Taylor Kitsch, but what do you think? So now answer in the comments below- Who would you cast as Wyatt Hunt? I’ll [...]
Last week I held a poll to see who you think looks most like your idea of Abe. From your participation in the poll, Danny Glover came out on top! There were a lot of other suggestions from fans about their own personal picks, which I very much enjoyed reading! Just a few of the many suggestions… Ray Campbell Morgan Freeman [...]
I highly recommend that you check out Melanie Thorne’s new book, HAND ME DOWN, 
