Turn Your Manuscript into a Page-Turner Using The Central Question Framework with Julie Tyler Ruiz

Episode Transcript
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David Gwyn (00:00):
Okay, this week we're heading back into the

(00:01):
Storyteller Society vault here.
Julie Tyler Ruiz is a Ph.
D.
She's a writer, educator andcreator of story bold with a
decade of experience in highereducation and a Ph.
D.
In English.
She combines business savvy witha deep passion for storytelling
to help writers craft their bestwork through self study courses,
group masterminds, in deptharticles and private coaching.

(00:24):
Julie empowers writers to unlocktheir authentic voice and bring
their stories to life.
Now she's a sought after voicein the writing world.
She's dedicated to guidingstorytellers toward clarity,
confidence, and creativesuccess.
And today she's here to talk tous about crafting a question
worth turning pages for and ananswer that pays off in

(00:44):
thriller, crime, and mysteryspecifically.

Julie Tyler Ruiz (00:47):
Thank you very much, David.
And the Thriller 101 community.
I'm very excited to be here.
and let's get rolling.
So yeah, a question worthturning pages for, getting those
readers to turn pages and ananswer that really pays off at
the end.
To my mind that is reallyimportant to these three genres
which are really, you know,Related and to any story,

(01:07):
really, but I was very excitedabout the opportunity to talk
about these genres because Ithink they're really fun.
They're fun to read and theykeep readers on the edge of
their seats.
So what today's presentation isgoing to be is, well, how do you
get the readers turning pagesand then feeling like they get
to the end?
And they're like, yes, this isthe ending of a lifetime.
I'm so flabbergasted by how itturned out, or like, you know,

(01:31):
this feels really satisfying andjuicy, and I'm never going to
forget this story.
So when I was thinking about itand doing some research, it, it
occurs to me, and also thinkingabout the books that I've read
in this genre or the movies thatI've seen in these genres,
there's this question thatarises in the mind of the reader
and it has to be so compelling.
And so in these genres we have areally especially juicy

(01:55):
opportunity to think about thequestion because readers They
want to be on the edge of theirseat.
So that question has to reallyjump out at them and make them
turn those pages so that theyget to the end and get the
answer that they really want.
So it doesn't just kind ofhappen.
We really have to think about itas the people in charge of the

(02:15):
story crafting every bit of theexperience.
So you want to have a reallywell crafted question in your
mind.
Like even if readers don'tactually have the same worded
question in their minds.
It'll be something, you know,along the same lines, but you
want to build your story aroundthis idea of a question and
leading to that really, reallypowerful answer.

(02:37):
And what I want us to all bethinking about is in this genre
in particular, Or these threegenres, or any genre that you
might find yourself in, in yourwriting journey.
Like how do you keep the readersengaged, and how do you get to
the end and really reallysatisfy them with answers.
Alright, quick overview.
So essential questions inthriller, crime, and mystery

(02:57):
this is what shapes the plot.
Everything in your story workstoward answering that question.
It does work for you in terms ofcreating suspense and creating
that feeling of, I just have tofind out what's going on here.
And it actually is prettyintertwined with character
motivations.
Every action, every clue thatthey find, every twist needs to

(03:19):
connect to that question.
So if you're thinking about yourown story, that central question
should be direct and also veryunique to your story.
So let's get into a fewexamples.
So in crime fiction, you know,it's kind of the classic
whodunit set up here.
And the question is really goingto drive the investigation

(03:40):
that's going on.
Like, how do we find out who didthis crime?
All of the plot twists,everything that comes up.
At various junctures in the inthe journey that we're
following, and then ultimatelythe resolution.
So, how do you kind of specifyto make it really particular to
your story?
So you might start off withsomething a little vague, and

(04:02):
it's not necessarily wrong tosay, well, the central question
is, who committed this crime?
Why did they do it?
How did they do it?
There's nothing wrong with that.
But let's try to get it.
Stronger and more unique andspecific to your story.
So for example, well, who leftthe victim's body in this
abandons church?
And why did they carve symbolsinto the wall?
So there's all these likedetails here.

(04:22):
It works because of thesedetails that are going to be
driving the investigation.
And they hinted these deepermotives, like this weird person
in a church carving symbols and,you know, whatever, like,
however their mind works.
You know, the question is reallyabout this individual who's
doing these weird things.

(04:43):
So an example for mystery.
So here, the big thing is reallyset up to unravel a truth, So
the basic central question is,well, what happened and what's
the truth behind it?
So the protagonist is uncoveringmissing pieces.
In some cases, there might be abunch of layers of deception
that they have to get through inorder to get to the truth.

(05:04):
And so the central question isreally about revelation.
Let's see what we can revealhere throughout the course of
the story.
So a really broad.
Version you might start withwould be like, well, what
happened to the missing person?
There's somebody missing.
We want to know what happened.
Maybe there wasn't a crime.
Maybe there was, but it's reallyabout revealing the truth to

(05:25):
make it a little bit stronger.
You would get into the detailsof your story.
Well, why did Claire's bestfriend disappear after their
argument?
Hmm, that's strange.
And what does the cryptic noteshe left behind really mean?
So here, the question wouldreally tie into the character
relationships.
That's part of the theme of thestory is these two people, they,

(05:45):
they were best friends and nowone of them's gone.
And there was a letter.
And maybe it suggests a fewlayers of deception that we
would want to uncover somehowthroughout.
And then a thriller example, soin thrillers, it seems to me
like there's, there could beelements of crime, there could
be elements of mystery, butthere's also this race against

(06:05):
time.
There's an urgency in thrillersand maybe some other like really
scary, horrific elements too,but that urgency there is really
at the heart of, of that genre.
So the basic central questionwould be, well, is the
protagonist going to stop thethreat in time?
Whatever that may be, the stakesare really high.
Either way, maybe their life anddeath.

(06:27):
Maybe there's a catastrophethat's happened and maybe
another one coming, coming juston the heels of it or some kind
of major consequences.
And so the question is going tofuel urgency and this relentless
momentum to stop whatever it is.
So a really general one couldbe, could this protagonist stop
the villain?

(06:47):
Let's make it stronger.
Can Agent Carter stop the bomberbefore he detonates his final
device?
There's like more, you know,more explosions and before her
own past mistakes get herremoved from the case.
So maybe she's the perfect oneto be doing it, but she's got
this past that, you know, herbosses or whatever, like, okay,
well, you, you can't be involvedhere.

(07:08):
And there would be a lot atstake in her being taken off.
So this one would work becauseit would build the urgency and,
and the stakes like you wouldneed for a thriller.
And there's also like a personalobstacle that heightens the
tension, like something, some,some set of mistakes that would
get in the way of her you know,resolving this.

(07:30):
So there's some examples of howyou could get them more
specific.
And now what I have is a set ofprompts that you can use to
really sit down, pause, whateverscene you're writing or wherever
you are in your process and seeif you can do some refining and
really.
Understand that the question,central question for your story.

(07:53):
And the answer that you'releading up to, this is what
you're building everything thatyou're doing around.
And this gives your story, thestructure, it gives it the, the
oomph, the suspense and thatpage turning quality that
readers really crave when theycome to these three genres.
So it's not just about the plotand like what happens, but it's
about shaping these charactersand their journeys and what

(08:15):
they're all about, who theyreally are.
Deep down inside, also creatingthat suspense and the emotional
depth that makes stories andstorytelling so special, so
human, and it's something thatAI is just not going to be able
to do because AI doesn't livethe human experience and the
human condition like we do.

(08:36):
So that's, that's what I want isto, to give you the, the
questions and the prompts to.
Get your mind spinning and to bethinking about what's going to
make your story so juicy and sosatisfying when the readers get
to the end.
So the questions and promptshere would be what personal
stakes.
Does your protagonist have inanswering the question, like

(08:59):
whatever their question is intheir mind?
So an example for crime might bethat a detective isn't just
solving a murder.
He's haunted by a case that hefailed to close years ago.
So that gives you some insight.
Any answers that you couldprovide for, you know, something
along those lines would give youinsight into What really makes
him tick, what he's got going onin his life, and what personal

(09:22):
attachment he has to old cases,new cases, his whole career, and
even victims.
Next one, what is driving yourantagonist to act the way that
they do?
So an example for a thrillermight be, while the terrorist
Here, it doesn't just wantchaos, they're doing all these
horrible, catastrophic thingsand hurting people.

(09:43):
They want revenge against thegovernment that betrayed them.
So it gets a little political,maybe.
it gives us some way to connectit to the, to the real world
here.
What hidden secrets, lies, orpast events shape your
character's choices?
So a mystery example would be,well, the missing woman isn't

(10:03):
just gone, she left a trail oflies and double identities
behind.
So there's a lot of juicy stuffthere about whoever this woman
is that, yeah, maybe we want tofind her, but what kind of
person even is this?
Like, if we do find her, like, Idon't know, is this a good
thing?
Let's see.
Let's read the book and see whatwe get to at the end with this,

(10:26):
with this missing individual.
So there's some prompts for,like, getting into your
character, really understandingwho they are really deep down.
And then I've got some onesaround whatever the threat is or
the central conflict.
You know, whatever the problemis that, that we want to have
solved.
So first one, how does thecentral question escalate

(10:46):
tension at key points in thestory?
So a thriller example.
Each new piece of evidence In amanhunt puts the protagonist in
more danger until they becomethe next target.
So it's not just about maybe whomight be the victims out there.
We, of course we care aboutthem, but now we've got this
protagonist who's, you know,he's getting, he or she is

(11:10):
getting more and more implicatedin, in what might happen, you
know, like bad things happeningto people.
Next one.
How does the central conflictdeepen, twist, or take on
unsettling new dimensions?
So maybe it starts to getweirder and weirder.
And here's an example for acrime.

(11:30):
A detective tracks a brutalserial killer until they find
evidence suggesting that thekiller might actually be
multiple people copying eachother's crimes.
And so now This protagonist,this detective, they can't just
chase a single warped mind.
They've got all these crazypeople.
Very disturbing network ofkillers feeding off the chaos
and like, what's theirrelationship?

(11:52):
And how are we going to herd thecats?
These killer people, you know,so it would sort of take on that
weird twist.
And then how does theprotagonist's journey to find
the answer test their limits?
So now they're like up againstsomething that they never have
been before.
So, thriller example, a copinvestigating a serial killer
starts breaking laws herself.

(12:14):
How far will she go before she'sno better than her target?
So now we have some you know,ethical and moral questions here
and like, an identity crisis formaybe a cop who considered
herself one of the good guys.
All right, and then nextcategory, stakes and the payoff
for the reader.
So readers don't just want thatanswer.
They want that payoff thatlingers after the final page.

(12:37):
That feeling that like, God,this was so juicy and I will
never forget this.
And if I could have a, like areading thrill like that again,
I don't know what I would do.
They would just like be theanswer to my, my prayer.
So why does this question, thiscentral question for your story,
why does it matter just to It'slike, like beyond just the plot

(12:58):
mechanics, like what happened inthe story, A, B, C, D, 1, 2, 3.
Why does it matter beyond that?
Okay.
So crime crime example, themurder isn't just a puzzle to
solve.
It actually reveals a deepcorruption that threatens the
entire town that this is set in.
So we, we learned somethingabout people and communities and

(13:19):
how this particular one isoperating.
So there's like a thematicpayoff, like some bigger.
Sense of issues and problems.
How does the answer to thequestion change the protagonist
or other key characters?
Like, fundamentally, like, whothey are.
So in mystery example, thedetective who cracks the case

(13:40):
realizes his best friend isguilty.
And so solving the murder justreally cost him everything.
Not only does he, like, he hasspent all this time, but now,
like, a really importantrelationship.
Might not exist anymore.
Will the answer be a twist, aconfirmation of suspicions, or

(14:00):
an unsettling revelation?
So, a thriller example of thehero trying to stop the
terrorist realizes too late thatthey've been the villain all
along.
You know, in some kind of way,like, whatever their actions
have been, they've actually, youknow, not really contributed in
a positive way to society.
So there's kind of a a reallybig twist where we have to

(14:21):
question, like, why were werooting for this person at all?
They were horrible.
And then my last category of, ofprompts themes, emotional
residence, you know, that reallysort of like deep stuff that
beyond the plot, it really getsus to think about the human
condition and what it reallymeans to be a part of this life,
a part of the universe.

(14:43):
So a great central questionconnects to a deeper theme like
justice, revenge, redemption, orlove, and the list keeps going,
like whatever your, your themesare, besides the actual like
plot you know, like the mysteryor the thriller element that
needs to be resolved.
So beyond these mystery orthriller elements, what deeper
themes are at play?
So see if you can make a list ofthese because this is going to

(15:04):
give it that texture, thatemotional resonance that all
stories need to have.
So for example, a revengethriller isn't just about
catching the killer, it exploresthe cost of vengeance.
Like, what does it do to aperson when they are so dead set
on getting back?
Like, how does that change aperson's very soul?

(15:26):
Does the central question tieinto the themes that you're
working with?
in a really meaningful way.
So mystery example, A MissingWoman's Case isn't just a
whodunit.
It exposes cycles ofgenerational trauma in her
family.
I think generational trauma is areally juicy theme that could
work for, you know, all kinds ofgenres.

(15:46):
But put it with a mystery or acrime or a thriller and I think
that's a really uniquecombination that would give
readers a lot to think about andreally kind of land for them.
And then how do the choicescharacters make reflect these
underlying themes.
So crime example, a cop coversup a crime to protect his

(16:08):
partner showing that loyalty canbe just as dangerous as
betrayal.
So one, another one of thoselike morality or ethics issues
where you've got this characterwho's you want to root for him,
but you're like, what are youdoing, dude?
Like, this is kind of notsomething that we admire, but
wow, it's really cool to read.
So those are some prompts foryou and just some ways to

(16:28):
reorient yourself to your story.
It doesn't matter where you arein the process.
I think you could productivelypause for a little bit, try some
of these out and see if you canreally clarify that question so
that when you get back to yourscenes or get back to your
outline or however it is thatyou build the actual story.
You have that clarity and youhave more of an incentive to, to

(16:51):
keep going and the confidence toknow that you're going to raise
a really good question andyou're going to answer it in a
way that deeply satisfies.

David Gwyn (17:00):
Yeah, that was awesome, Julie.
Thank you so much for, forsharing.
I, and I also feel like you gaveme about 10 book ideas as we
were talking there.
Which is also really cool.
I know you work with people onthis.
And so my question is, when doyou think is the ideal time to
develop a question for yourstory?
Do you think it's like.

(17:21):
Before you start writing betweenwriting and editing while you're
editing, like when, when is,when is it a time that you found
either in your own writing orthrough clients?
That is a really good time to,to, to kind of buckle this
question down.
So you're sure you have it

Yeah.
Yeah.
I like that question because itreally kind of boils down to our
individual, like way of goingabout this and our individual
like process.
For, if I, if I were going to.
Do it for myself or some of thewriters that I work with, and
they've kind of like taken on myapproach.
What I would say is maybe getsome scenes under your belt.

(17:55):
Write a real rough outline oflike the whole story, just so
you kind of know like what evenhappens here.
Like get an idea of the plot.
Know who your characters are ina very basic sense, like the
cast, what their basic motivesare, what role they play in the
story, and their relationships.
And then before you hit a snagand before you get to that point

(18:18):
in the writing process whereyou're like, Oh my God, this is
like too hard.
It's too big.
I'm fatigued.
And I've lost that inspiredfeeling before you get to that
point Or if you sense thatyou're there, sit down with
these questions because they'regoing to bring you some clarity
and they'll get you excitedagain, because now you have
that, like that juiciness, youknow, that you can execute, you

(18:41):
can execute on your vision.
Knowing that it's really goingto pay off.
That's what I

David Gwyn (18:47):
think.
I love that.
I think having a question likethis provides a lot of clarity
to the work that when you'redoing, you know, over months and
thousands and thousands of wordshaving a level of clarity is
always a good thing.
Great.
So Julie, I don't know if I'mputting you on the spot a little
bit here, but if you want toshare a little bit about

(19:07):
Storybold and just, you know,where people can find you if
they want some more informationand then I've got some of your
stuff that I've, I've alsolinked, but they can hear it
from you.

Yeah, perfect.
Thank you.
Yeah, storyboldstudio.
com is the website and thereyou'll kind of see a little bit
about my services.
I have a blog where I writearticles on different hot topics
on writing, publishing evenprofessionalizing, you know, if
you want to like get a writinggig or a writing job or

(19:37):
something like that.
So what my goal is is with.
Storybold is to get more storiesinto the world and to work with
writers who are just soimpassioned about storytelling
and they feel that it is theirduty to get the story outside of
their mind and to get it intoreader's hands.

(19:58):
Any genre.
I work with non fiction writers,fiction writers so I don't have,
you know, any sort ofrestrictions on topic or genre
or anything like that.
I, my, my, my only restrictionis that you have to be really
passionate, you need a good workethic, and you have to feel like
this is your calling.
So, you know, I work with peoplein different ways.

(20:20):
and yeah, I started it out of adeep need to tell stories
myself, but also surround myselfwith writers who love it.
Cause I, I like to have theseconversations.
Cool.

David Gwyn (20:29):
Thank you so much.
And Julie, thanks again so muchfor your time.
We really appreciate it.

Thank you.
It's been a real pleasure to behere with you all.
And I, I'm so glad I was able tocontribute to your process and
give you some new ideas.
Hope you all will keep in touchand you know, tell great stories
and let me know how they're, howthey're going for you.

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