Hello all! I'm happy you've come back to check out the blog again. We're well on our way to have 1000 visitors, and I'm curious to see if we can hit that mark by the end of the month! Right now though, let's get to work.
Last week we got up until the point in Phillipe's whirlwind of a life right up until the antagonist and final side character, for all purposes let's say love interest, would be introduced. It's up to you when you want these two to come into play. Sometimes it's nice to see the big antagonist reveal later on in the book, that way who's been putting up roadblocks for the main character is a mystery they need to solve, that way meeting the antagonist is also a reward for the characters. That's not to say it's also not fun to meet them and watch how they make life difficult for the main character, and they know exactly who they're dealing with. There's a lot of drama in that because it shows the protagonist just how much that character knows about them, and how it can be used against them.
For our example let's say the antagonist is the former number 2, he worked with the previous Don before his death and wasn't too happy some no-name kid was given the job that by all means should have been his. He's spent his days plotting his revenge, working from the inside out to figure out exactly how to take down Phillipe's empire, and now he's decided to make his move. Things start simple enough, a failed job here, police giving questioning looks there, that was all to figure out Phillipe's weaknesses and other such things he can exploit. One day he gives one of his boys an order, one that the man will likely not live through, but he doesn't care he just wants to see how Phillipe handles himself; at a bar, the man is to take whatever waitress is working Phillipe's table hostage and start making demands of the mob boss.
The situation needs to be tense, the hostage taker as has been given very clear instructions; he has demands and questions he needs to ask Phillipe, and they need to be as damning as possible. Questions like "Aren't you working with the police to shut down the crime syndicate?" and other such things will start bringing dissension within the ranks and start putting Phillipe's own people against him. In the end of the scene, the man holding the hostage will likely die, however, because she's also been exposed to a Q&A session of mob workings, the woman can't just be left to talk to police. After some debate, and time running out before the police show up, in a hasty decision, Phillipe takes the woman with his people as they go to their safe-house.
Now, these scene could happen several different ways, for the sake of having a blog and not wanting to get to the 'too long did not read' length, we'll say the woman is the last remaining side character. You could also have him kill the waitress, and it's her sister that comes along for revenge, either way! Anyway, after talking with the woman, and also making sure she isn't a complete tool and/or spy for the police of the antagonist, Phillipe learns she's suffered a fate much like his own, but rather than seek revenge she was pushed to the streets and survived anyway she could. The woman is cunning, witty, smart, and will have to be a match for Phillipe as well. Much like the antagonist, this character should be a good match for Phillipe and be a reflection that shows something he desires, rather than despises. If she's boring, flat, and just seems like a set of legs that walks around, that's not going to make anyone care whether or not she lives or dies, and that never makes for a good read.
Thanks again for reading though this, next week we'll get to the conclusion of the outline for Phillipe's story. I really hope these posts have been helpful and I would love feedback on them. Feel free to post comments or send me an e-mail if you have questions or would like to see anything in particular on the blog. Barring I have power I'll be back Friday with another ebook to review for you! See you then!
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