Writing a Thriller or Repairing the Basement Toilet?

1. Dank, dark atmospherics
2. Certain dangers are obvious; others arise unexpectedly
3. Everything is interconnected, but how?
4. Furious pursuit of leverage
5. First bloodshed
6. Things get real messy, real fast
7. The protagonist mutters “I’m too old for this shit”
8. Creative use of duct tape, but it doesn’t hold
9. Piercing shrieks
10. Ratcheting, ratcheting, ratcheting
11. Pressure builds
12. Don’t lose the thread
13. New, increasingly difficult obstacles
14. Looming: a specialist in wrench and blowtorch work
15. Time is running out
16. Second bloodshed
17. Nobody is coming to the rescue
18. Spurting
19. Everything hinges on the final twist
20. A satisfying, tidy ending
21. Major sequel potential

1-21: Writing a thriller.
1-19, 21: Repairing the basement toilet.