Notes

I think the book: The Fifth Wave by, Rick Yancey is a great example of how to set a story up, get clear motives from characters and have an ultimate payoff using suspense as well. Some of the motives of the characters were: I will do ANYTHING to protect my brother, I will do ANYTHING to escape, e.t.c. That "anything" really mixes up characters not into good or bad but shades of grey. You see, in life, no body is good or bad. Everyone has a bad side. But everyone has motivations and charcter traits. So, when reading, you start to like someone not based on the traditional "good" or "bad," but the character's personality traits and motivations. If you see what I'm saying, the author did a really good job of creating characters that fit perfectly into the story and had clear motives. Sometimes, people buy books for that reason: to see characters progress and see how the storyline unfolds. There is so much thinking that goes into making a story it is unbelievable. Think about all the rough drafts, think about all the possible angles that could unfold. Like in the story, when the main character FINALLY saves her brother, think about all the other possibilities that the author could've gone through with. Maybe her getting caught, her taking the wrong route, I don't know! It really is crazy to think about. The more that I think about it, the more that I realize the author really tries to connect with the reader. The storylines and the characters try to connect with the daily lives of the said audience. Maybe a defiant kid or a shy girl is the focus of the book. This book had a girl who would do ANYTHING to protect her brother. Overall, all of these factors are in this book, and even though I didn't go into detail about it, I really recommend you read it.