Thank you for your response Directorik. Do you think that also looking at becoming a producer too would be helpful? I have thought about whether I should pursue that as well. Roger Corman comes to mind as the type of producer I would like to be. I would also like to help others make low budget...
This may seem strange to some but my main long term goal is to work in the industry on low budget films that go straight to VOD. I say it may seem strange to some because usually people want to work in the mainstream big budget blockbuster sector of the film industry. So my question is - what...
Thanks everyone for your responses. Sorry for any confusion with the question. I didn't intend to withhold Tom's name from the reader, it was just the result of faulty thinking, in which I didn't want to put "Man Who Survived" in all caps when the character is first introduced to the reader, and...
That's okay Miked, thanks for your response all the same. The character who was at first known in the script as Man Who Survived is actually named Tom. When I introduce him, I didn't put Man Who Survived in all caps. It isn't until the next time his name is mentioned in descriptive text do I put...
EDIT: Thank you everyone who responded. My issue has been resolved but of course feel free to continue any discussions that arose from this topic :)
I have a character that doesn't get their name revealed to the reader until they introduce themselves to another character. They survived a car...
Does the villain even have to explain to him the "why" of their actions? It could just go like this:
MC: Why?
Villain: It doesn't matter. What matters is I now have the upper hand.
Or something to that effect.
@harmonica44
In Reservoir Dogs so the audience doesn't know that until it's revealed in the narrative, and that's the approach you could take with your undercover cop character.
As for making sure the audience doesn't know she's a crook, you have to decide what you want the audience to know...
If the cop is undercover then he would act the way a crook would, so as to not blow their cover. Try to treat the undercover cop character as if he is a crook and not an undercover cop. If you work in that he falls for her, the audience not knowing he's an undercover cop will help sell that he's...
One way of making it a surprise that she's a villain is to keep the reveal that the undercover cop is an undercover cop, a secret. That way the reader isn't thinking about the fact she's being investigated because they don't know that information yet.
And what is the woman's relationship to the gang other than the fact she is part of it - is she the leader's girlfriend, or a girlfriend of any of the members? If not then how about this: the cops send in an undercover cop to get close to her. Over time they gain her trust, maybe become an item...
If the woman is arrested, she instantly becomes a liability for the gang. The police don't get anything out of her and because they have lack of evidence they let her go. In the meantime, the gang have put out a hit on the woman. Since the police are running surveillance on her, when the hit is...
The problem I see is that even if the police go undercover and pretend to be the gang, depending on how long she has actually been involved with the gang, it would seem weird to her that these new "additions" to the gang just so happen to have appeared and are now asking questions.