Laura Pauling | Tag Archive

Tag Archives | Murder

Story structure of a heist movie in 15 sentences.

By Laura on June 11, 2012 in Plotting a novel

I walked up to Redbox simultaneously rubbing my hands with glee but also doubtful because we haven’t had much luck in the movie department. One of the first movies I noticed was Man on A Ledge. At first, I thought it sounded really dumb but…as soon as I saw the words diamond heist I didn’t need to read anymore.

Of course I won’t mention that I left the movie in the shopping cart in the parking lot and had to return and then pay for it again. Nope, not going to mention that at all!

So, if you couldn’t tell, I love, love, love heist movies and I love studying them. #plotnerd #savethecat. So here goes.

Opening Image:

Nick Cassidy eats his last meal in a hotel (alone), wipes down all his fingerprints, writes the suicide note, and then climbs out the window and onto the ledge.

Theme-stated:

For me, it’s hard to pick out the moment they reveal the theme because I’m watching the movie and taking notes, but the strong theme of looking beyond the facts to find the truth is very apparent.

Set-up:

During a flashback, we learn Nick might have been unfairly imprisoned, he’s an ex-cop, and he escaped while attending his father’s funeral.

Catalyst:

During the flashback we learn Nick’s appeal had been overturned and he’d be in jail for 25 years.

Debate:

Tricky in a heist movie because there is usually not a huge character arc but I’d say his debate occurred when he was denied the appeal. Obviously, he chose to do something about it and escape!

Break into Two:

Nick Cassidy says he won’t talk to anyone but Detective Mercer, so Act II starts for me when she shows up at the window to talk Nick out of jumping.

B Story:

The subtle romance between Nick and Mercer as she tries to do her job and he plays her and stalls for time.

Fun and Games:

Joey Cassidy, Nick’s brother, and his girlfriend break into a nearby building to steal a diamond while Nick draws all the media attention.

Midpoint:

Due to a news helicopter, Nick is recognized, and we learn he was previously in jail for already stealing the diamond.

Bad Guys Close In:

We see David Englander, the owner of the diamond, talk with dirty cops to “take care” of Nick.

All is Lost:

Nick reveals to Mercer that he’s been communicating with his brother through an earpiece, and Joey states that the diamond is not in the vault. (They were counting on it to prove Nick’s innocence.)

Dark Night of the Soul:

Per the usual heist movie or book there is not a huge character arc, nor a dark night of the soul.

Break into Three:

The tactical team arrives from helicopter and the chase begins when Nick breaks back into the building.

Finale:

Nick resteals the diamond and proves his innocence. This simple sentence doesn’t begin to show the amazing climax. (We learn the man who owned the diamond had previously framed Nick to recover financially from the insurance money from the supposed theft of the same diamond.)

Final Image:

At the start he was eating alone and now he’s in a bar with Mercer, his brother and girlfriend, and his Dad. Yes, a nice twist at the end and it’s confirmed that this elaborate heist was planned and a success!

Overall, I really enjoyed this heist movie especially because the motivations behind it were personal with Nick’s freedom on the line. And I learned that Man on a Ledge is a cop term for a potential suicide.

And I loved seeing the similarities between this break down and the break down of Heist Society by Ally Carter.

Do you like heist movies? Any good ones? If not, what do you like to watch?

Comments { 33 }

What does a barefoot bandit have to do with Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig?

By Laura on May 9, 2012 in guest posts, murder and mystery

Welcome to the blog series celebrating my YA release, A Spy Like Me.

Today we have with us Elisa Ludwig, Young Adult author of Pretty Crooked – a contemporary Robin Hood story. And yes, she’s giving away a hard cover! Woo hoo!

Top secret intel on Elise:

Elisa Ludwig studied writing at Vassar College and Temple University. She has been pick-pocketed twice, and once caught someone mid-pocket. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and her cat Beau. PRETTY CROOKED is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.elisaludwig.com.

Book trailer ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

The Story Behind the Story for Pretty Crooked

So you would like to know how my debut novel, Pretty Crooked, came to be? Let me take you back—way back—to the summer of 2010. It was excruciatingly hot, and there was the Deepwater oil spill going on, as well as the European debt crisis, but I will still remember it as an awesome summer because it was the summer I got my first book deal. (Lest you find this very selfish, I will add that good things were happening that summer, too: the H1N1 pandemic was declared over, and the first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered plane was successfully completed.) What’s more, the Barefoot Bandit was on the loose and I can’t help but feel some affection for the fella, as I will explain below.

What happened was this: For several months, I’d had a novel on submission that was not getting any hits. I was feeling a little hopeless. The manuscript had made the rounds to just about every house and my next WIP was dead on arrival. In the meantime, I was still getting these thankfully very kind but still heartbreaking rejections that told me I had a good voice, my prose was smooth and the characters were believable, but that the book was too quiet to sell. The very last editor to read it, Claudia Gabel at HarperCollins, responded to my agent that she really enjoyed my writing and would like to work on a project together.

We began throwing around ideas. The Barefoot Bandit was making the news at the time but was still at large. With clever getaways and stick-it-to-the-man attitude Harris Colton-Moore, or his female equivalent, seemed like the perfect hero(ine) for a YA novel. Throw in a hefty dose of the man in green tights and a little dash of Veronica Mars for good measure, and the concept about a teenage outlaw who steals from the rich mean girls to find justice for the scholarship kids at her school was born.

Right away, I fell in love with Willa Fox and enjoyed every minute of working on this book, which is anything but quiet. It was also a wonderful experience working with Claudia and the rest of the team at Katherine Tegen, so it has been a win all around. I STILL can’t believe I have a book, a real book, out there in the world. Like, a month later, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Best of all, both Willa’s story and my own adventure in publishing continues. I recently finished book two and am now on the third installment. A writer friend once said to me, things don’t always happen in the way you expect them to, and I am really glad in this case that she was right.

Purchase Links: Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble

****

Wow, I just love the stories behind the stories. Thanks, Elisa! And thanks for offering one winner a copy of Pretty Crooked!

To enter, please leave a comment and tweet with @laurapauling. If you tweet more than once or blog about this series then add another comment with the link. Winners will be announced on Saturday so you’ll have all week to enter and promote.

You can still enter Monday and Tuesday’s book giveaway below!

Day 1: Gemma Halliday’s Hollywood Scandals
Day 2: Anne R. Allen’s The Gatsby Game

Thanks everyone!

Hang onto your seats because tomorrow we’ll hear from an extremely popular blogger about her life in France!

Comments { 12 }

Want a sneak peek into the next three weeks of Spies, Murder and Mystery?

By Laura on May 3, 2012 in murder and mystery

So the posts are rolling in and I’m loving what I’m reading and can’t wait to share it with all of you in the next three weeks.

What? Haven’t you heard?

To celebrate A Spy Like Me I’m holding a 3 week Spies, Murder and Mystery Marathon.

The Butterfly Clues: murder, mystery and great writing!

By Laura on April 9, 2012 in book reviews, murder and mystery

Seriously what more do you need? Or I should say what more do I need?

I won a signed hardcover of The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison over a month ago. It sat on my reading pile. And then it sat some more. And some more. So kinda burnt out one night, I picked it up just to read the first few chapters and I knew from the first page that I would love it.

It was the writing.

Here are the opening lines:

I spot her out of the corner of my eye and freeze.
It always happens like this.
My body goes tingly.
Blood thrums in my ears: a low buzz like a faraway swarm of insects, and every cell in my body screams: save her save her save her.
There’s nothing I can do but obey.

Clean. Full of sensory details. A sense of urgency. I absolutely loved it.

I loved that Penelope or Lo struggled with her OCD and the more stressful the situation the worse it got. Dealing with the death of her brother, strained parental relationships and most importantly solving a murder. And it all started when Lo felt the obsession to steal a beautiful antique butterfly figurine that belonged to the victim.

I loved the mystery but the writing…oh the writing I loved. So I’m passing this book recommendation onto you.

What’s the last book you read that the story and writing just absolutely captivated you?

Comments { 18 }