My new novel, THE TWO SISTERS, is available for purchase: The Two Sisters by Terri Dawn Arnold. The story has crime, drama, and mystery. Lannie and Kellie suffer from manic depression. They are unable to manage the mental health problem, and clash with university classmates.
As I was growing up I discovered Archie Comics. I enjoyed reading the adventures of Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead. I also looked forward to the occasional appearance of Josie and the Pussycats. In addition to reading the comic books, I watched the cartoon on television.
Today people can watch Riverdale. Riverdale is a television series based on the characters of Archie Comics. As a result, viewers who are afficionados of the comics probably expect a light, comedic program. On the contrary, Riverdale is a teen drama complete with mystery.
The main characters are fully developed. Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), and Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) each have conflicts. This creates a lot of drama, and is so different from the original comic books. Archie has a dark side, but is still musical. Betty is tougher than most would assume. Veronica is gentler than one would expect. Jughead is from the other-side-of-the-tracks and must join the Southside Serpents gang for survival.
During Season Two Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) is beginning to have some conflicts and her friendship with the arrogant cheerleader Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) is developing. Also, the parents are often involved in storylines. However, it seems they were more active during Season One. Betty's mother Alice is played by Madchen Amick, and is the parent viewers see the most because of her controlling nature. Veronica's parents, Hermione (Marisol Nichols) and Hiram (Mark Consuelos) are mysterious. Hiram is a businessman who committed white collar crimes and Hermione has connections with the Southside Serpents gang. Jughead's father FP, played by Skeet Ulrich, is in the Southside Serpents gang. It seems most of the parents have connections with the Southside Serpents (even Alice), except for Alice's estranged husband Hal (Lochlyn Munro) and Archie's father Fred (Luke Perry). Mayor Sierra McCoy (Robin Givens) strongly dislikes the Southside Serpents. And, of course, Sheriff Tom Keller (Martin Cummins) dislikes the gang. It is unknown whether he has any connections to them or not; his character is obscure. His son Kevin (Casey Cott) is a friend of Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead. There are various recurring appearances by other characters. Lastly, there is Pop of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. Every time Pop places a milkshake on the table or counter, viewers probably crave one!
Season One provided the murder mystery of Cheryl's twin brother Jason Blossom (Trevor Stines). Season Two is all about figuring out who could be The Black Hood. This person shot Fred and is believed to be the one who killed the former music teacher Miss Grundy (Sarah Habel). Overall, Riverdale is a teen drama with a hook that even keeps adult viewers engaged. In many ways, the series is more appropriate for an adult audience.
WIND RIVER is a thriller movie written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. The entire film is highly suspenseful and provides an uneasy feeling. The circumstances make this possible: the location is a small town in what seems like the middle of no where, snow is on the ground, it is cold, wild animals are present, and the local wildlife officer Cory Lambert (played by Jeremy Renner) finds a woman's dead body.
Since the body is found on a Native American reservation, the sole tribal officer Ben (played by Graham Greene) is put in charge and swiftly contacts the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Jane Banner (played by Elizabeth Olsen) arrives. Because murder is not the cause of death, the FBI does not send Banner any back up, and it is up to her to solve the mystery of why the woman had run for so many miles in the snow.
I am teaching Creative Writing: The Mystery, Suspense, Crime Story on the Udemy Web site. The course is intended for beginning mystery-suspense-crime writers, literature students, and writers interested in writing thrillers. In the class I show the creative writing process (plot structure) and how to maintain awareness of the genres of mystery, suspense, and/or crime.
I teach students how to get started by planning the story with an outline and a treatment. During the course, students will write either a novel, teleplay, or screenplay. Since I have written all three, I include instruction for the different formats: novel, teleplay, and screenplay.
When writing a story, research is important and I share the research process I utilized for my crime-drama screenplay, THE TWO SISTERS, which is an independent film I also produced and directed, receiving Best Screenplay award nominations from film festivals. Overall, the course is for people who enjoy mystery, suspense and crime, and individuals who want to learn the story writing process. For more information and to enroll visit https://www.udemy.com/creative-writing-the-mystery-suspense-crime-story/.
MR. HOLMES is a wonderful film for Sherlock Holmes admirers. MR. HOLMES stars Ian McKellen. The story takes its audience into Holmes' private life and not just him being a sleuth. He masterfully solves a mystery, even when intending to shift into another phase of life.
