MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More by Bryn Donovan Page B

or family member who is sick of his verbal or physical abuse.
A spouse wants out of a marriage, but he doesn’t want to pay alimony, or have others think he was a bad person. He commits the murder as a means of “instant divorce.”
The murderer kills his mistress or girlfriend because she is pregnant. Maybe he is married to another woman and doesn’t want his wife to find out about the affair, or maybe he doesn’t want to be burdened with a child.
    The killer wants to eliminate his rival in romance, politics, or some other competition.
The killer believes the victim personally wronged her—by ridiculing her, firing her, ending their friendship, or “stealing” her man. Note that this grudge might go way back. Also, the supposed injustice may be all in the killer’s imagination.
The victim personally wronged someone the killer loved. He might have raped the killer’s sister, for instance, or financially ruined the killer’s father. The killer might be exacting justice after the legal system failed to do so.
A boyfriend or husband murders the victim after flying into a jealous rage over a real or suspected infidelity.
The victim reminds the murderer of someone who rejected him.
The killer gets sexually aroused by murdering women or men to whom he is attracted.
In the murderer’s mind, she is doing the victim a favor by killing him—because he is suffering on earth, or because he’s bound for eternal bliss.
The murderer hates the victim’s politics, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. He may see himself as a crusader.
The killer believes the victim is possessed by a demon. Note that if you are writing a horror or paranormal story, the killer may be correct.
    The murder is a result of a drug deal gone bad.
The guilty party murders his wife or child so that people will feel sorry for his loss.
The killer feels inferior, and the murder makes him feel powerful and important.
The killer commits a murder in order to frame someone close to the victim and destroy that person’s life.
The victim’s life seems perfect—and the murderer is obsessed with the unfairness of this.
A spouse, parent, or child murders a family member because he requires an extraordinary amount of caretaking.
The murderer actually mistakes the victim for his real intended target.
The killer is an amoral monster who wants to know what it feels like to kill somebody.

25 REASONS TO MOVE TO A NEW TOWN
    Leo Tolstoy once said, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” I don’t know if this is true, but there are many wonderful books and movies about these two things. That’s why I created a list of reasons to move to a new town, and you could also write about the journey there.
     
She’s going to college in this new town, or she might be a foreign exchange student.
He just landed a new job there, or his company transferred him to this office. Maybe he thinks it will be a nice place to live. On the other hand, maybe he thinks the town is a dump, but he has no other prospects.
Her fiancé or husband got a job there. Maybe they arrive together, or maybe they have been doing the long-distance thing for a while.
He’s looking for a new job. If you want to work in his field, this is the place to be.
She thinks this town is the perfect place to start her bed and breakfast, coffee shop, or other dream business.
Even though she’s from a small town, she’s always dreamed of life in the big city.
Even though he was born and raised in a bustling metropolis, he’s always fantasized about an idyllic life in the country.
His aging parents live there, and he’s moving close by so he can look after them.
    Her siblings or parents live there, and she’s a single parent who could use their help with the kids.
Her sister’s or daughter’s family lives there, and she wants to be a part of the kids’ lives.
He wants to get as far away from his family as possible, because they are