Young Writers Society

So, since I'm new and absolutely blind to all of this, I decided to take on Last Man Standing or LMS. And the novel that I decided to thrust into the ring is What Happened to Benjamin Marcos?, which is currently in the process of being planned with only bare bone characters.

The main premise of my novel is that Ronnie and Jayson Storkhill finds out that their grandma was an ex-serial killer due to a newspaper clipping about an unsolved case that was tucked away inside of a box and a sign that reads "nothing says oops like accidental murder".

The main characters (as far as I have planned out) are as followed:

Ronnie Storkhill
Jayson Storkhill
Patsy Willsburg
Mrs. and Mr. Storkhill
Benjamin Marcos

I haven't figured out the exactly why Benjamin dies or why Patsy kills him by "accident" or even if the murder was really an "accident". Anyway, this will be my thing to write out the plans for my novel as LMS rolls around. Can't wait to write it!

Keep a look out for incoming plots, characters, and random tidbits.

Kind of Backstory:

Patsy Storkhill was 19 when she killed Benjamin Marcos in 1997. The real reason why she killed him was to please the club's president, Edward Hamstring, of which she is apart of. Though, at first, Patsy didn't want to join the club. She figured it would be one of those things you see on TV that just leads you into trouble. But her friend, Chloe Robertson, insisted they join to meet new people. Patsy didn't want to see Chloe upset, so she agreed.

As a token for her efforts, Mr. Hamstring crafted a sign that read 'nothing says oops like accidental murder' because he later found out that Benjamin's murder was an accident since Fredrick Damon disappeared. But since Patsy killed someone, she was apart of the club. It wasn't until 1998 when she killed Fredrick Damon, Patsy quit. Mr. Hamstring threatens to kill her if she doesn't kill Fredrick as he was going to tell the police about the night of when Benjamin died.

After these two murders and Patsy quitting, Mr. Hamstring sends people to watch over her family, just in case she decides to go to the police. It is a tight knot situation as one wrong move and Patsy is dead.

Regarding the case about Benjamin Marcos, it has been opened for 31 years.

I really dig this! Gotta love a good family drama, right? ;D Especially with a murder or two thrown in.

Gonna toss a few questions your way: Is the story mainly told from Ronnie's POV or is it a flashback to Patsy's? What approximate year is it set in (considering you said Patsy was online at 18 and is Ronnie's grandma)?

On Patsy: Was she a wild child or of a more tame temperament? How does she treat her grandchildren? Does her partner know about the murder?

I'm loving it so far. Can't wait to see it posted!

@Lareine - thank you for your questions!

I'm still in the process of figuring out how or who is telling the story. I'm kind of drifting to it being in the third person, mainly because I'd like to go back in the past and focus on Patsy's emotions and steps of how she tried covering this up, but at the same time, I'd like to write it in the first person (because that's kind of what I'm used to when I'm writing).

With the year, I'm kind of hoping that this will take place in 2016. I don't *exactly* know the date where Patsy killed Benjamin, as that too is in a work of progress. I may have to do some research or ask the right questions, like when was the internet around and when did it become big?

Patsy, at the time where she joined the club, was just following the lead of her best friend. I kind of see her as just trying to fit in and believing the lies that Mr. Hamstring had prompted. When she finally got out of that scene (I'm considering that she may have killed one more person or something before leaving the club all the together-this might prompt Mr. Hamstring sending people to watch over Patsy while she lives her normal life), Patsy did marry and her partner knew nothing of her past. Patsy didn't want to risk losing her partner over something like that and whenever there were people outside the house, Patsy just dismissed it as the neighbors.

Her partner eventually died of natural causes and eventually, the club people stopped watching her. So, Patsy hasn't told anyone of how the murder actually happened. Which would lead to a huge surprise to her daughter and loads of family drama to come afterward.

If anyone has any more questions, let me know!

What Happened to Benjamin Marcos? Murder Timeline

6:30 pm: Fredrick Damon is picked up by his chauffeur driver, Benjamin Marcos, at his private estate. During the ride, they discuss where the party is being held (which is at Damon's condo on the other side of town) and the different things that will be there, including a movie and a live band.

6:50 pm: Damon arrives at the party but before Benjamin drives away, Fredrick suggests that he come to join since it is a party that is celebrating Fredrick's dying law firm. Benjamin kind of hesitates but goes anyway.

7:00 pm: Benjamin and Damon split up. Damon heads over to a group of friends while Benjamin goes to the drink station, grabbing himself some fruit punch since he doesn't like to drink heavily. He keeps to himself for the rest of the night, only talking to a few people here and there.

7:15 pm: The movie begins. Chloe Robertson is showing the film. Fredrick encourages people to go ahead and watch it. The live band also begins and plays soft jazz music. Everyone is having a good time.

7:25 pm: Damon pulls Benjamin into the kitchen to have a toast before Fredrick goes onto to talk about the law firm and his accomplishments in life. Benjamin, as mentioned before, doesn't drink. Fredrick finally gets him to have an alcoholic shot. They have a toast and drink it. Benjamin complains how sour it is while Fredrick pats him on the back. Damon then leaves the kitchen to go out and watch the movie while Benjamin stays behind. This would be the last time Damon sees Marcos alive.

8:00 pm: Helen Bernadette, the housemaid, heads into the kitchen to fill up the mop bucket because someone had too much to drink and puked on Damon's glass stairs. When she enters, Helen goes to the supply closet. When she opens it, a body falls on her. She pushes it back and screams, running out of the kitchen. Benjamin Marcos is dead.

8:10 pm: Fredrick Damon is last seen, after giving his speech talking to a girl before disappearing and turning up dead several days later inside of his burning car.

8:50 pm: The police arrive and everyone attending the party is told to stay calm while they investigate the scene.

Setting:

This is a rough spot for where this novel will be taking place. I'll update/change anything later on.

Name: Shanesburg, Kansas

Population: 100,000

Description: Nestled on the edge of Kansas and away from all the bustling cities such as Topeka, Shanesburg is a small town with a gas station, a school, several buildings like a McDonalds and a police station, and a mining cave that rumors the interest of being haunted. There is plenty of farming available as the main things grown is corn and wheat. The mayor, Keeton Lyson, boasts that "Shanesburg is a wonderful town with a diverse amount of people. Come on by and see the giant corn statue! It'll be a trip worth remembering."

Updated Premise

The case surrounding the death of Benjamin Marcos is regarded as the longest and strangest of 1997. Evidence of his death was regarded as an accidental poisoning. The main victim, who died by setting their car on fire, disappeared on the night of the murder. There have been several suspects (ranging from small-town crooks to known killers), but the evidence doesn't come up as planned. The case ends up being pushed aside and forgotten.

Skip forward to 2024 and Ronnie Storkhill, along with her brother Jayson and best friend Natalie Marcos, will figure out the real suspect of the 31-year long-unsolved case of what happened to Benjamin Marcos. And the main suspect may just turn out to be their loving 56-year-old grandma.

I'm so here for this! You should chat with @BlueAfrica about the unlikely grandma character!

What intrigues me here especially - though I don't know if it's the route you're going for - is the unreliable narrative approach? Even if this in Ronnie's PoV it would be fun to see them speaking to Patsy and others and not being sure what they believe and what they don't.

I LOVE YOUR BOOK COVER!!!!!!?!?!?!?!? AAAAAA!!! IT LOOKS VERY GOOD. 10/10 would pick up that book and read. Totally ... judging by the cover.

Oops, I didn't see your replies sooner!

@StellaThomas - Thank you! I'm still working out the POV, but I may use the unreliable approach as you suggested. I do think that I can cover more ground with the plot that way.

@soundofmind - Thanks! In this case, judging a book by the cover is alright.

After some help from @Lareine, I figured and changed some plot things:

- The story takes place in 2024 (because originally if it were to take place in 2016, Patsy would have a 10-year-old child and that would be a lot of emotional trauma for the mother and I don't want to put her through that). She kills Benjamin at the age of 19 in 1997 and the case is considered to be opened for 31 years.

- Patsy also has Peter a year later with her husband (she quits the club because she doesn't want to do the life of killing anymore). And I'm kind of the sidelines of thinking that maybe the club manager would send someone to overlook Patsy and her family.

- Also, an update on Fredrick's personality but he is a trickster. He tricked Benjamin into being killed because, at the time of Ben being accidentally murdered, Fredrick was still the club owner (who is now Edward Hamstring). Benjamin Marcos was Fredrick's shofar at the time of the party and just talked to him about his problem and promised to raise his pay (which doesn't happen cause Ben is dead).

- Patsy had help killing Benjamin as when she tried to fire the gun, her hands were a bit shaky and it misfired, hitting a nearby window. The window breaking caught Ben's attention and Patsy decided to use a knife to finish the job. When that almost worked, there were two guys that helped finish the job off. They then cleaned up any evidence and threw the body into the closet, before disappearing from the scene.

I will add things here and there as I continue thinking too hard planning this novel.

I got some more ideas from a plot session with a good friend of mine and I'm just throwing them on here because I don't know where else to put them:

- Benjamin is stabbed by Patsy but dies from poison by Fredrick Damon
- Fredrick and Ben are same room and they have a toast to Fredrick's dying law firm.
- Fredrick notices the time and then pardons himself. Benjamin turns around and fixes up the drinks on the tray. Patsy then enters the kitchen, stabs him, and believes that she killed him with the stab. Then leaves the room, blending with the crowd.

So there are some spoilers that I didn't want to include but if you want to know more about this, then look if you dare:



How does Ronnie find out about the case?

She finds out about the case from her best friend, Natalie Marcos. Natalie gives Ronnie a newspaper clipping detailing the small events of Benjamin Marco's death back in 1997, during the summer. Ronnie is bored and has nothing to do for two months.

What is her motivation to do the case?

Figuring out the main suspect and making her summer more exciting.

I'm also adding a new character to the list of characters I've created for this story. There's a lot and I'm hoping maybe to work on the prologue? Because I want to get the beginning out of the way but also kind of wait for LMS to come around to write. It's a bit of dilemma.