This week we’re going to continue with: How to hook your reader on the first page! To review, two weeks ago we talked about the HOOK, and how the hook needs to be SHARP. This week, let’s take a closer look at that first element of crafting your HOOK. S = Stakes – Making them big, scary and intimate Why does it matter? This is the question every reader is going to ask themselves, if not verbally, then underneath it all, as they’re reading. Why, indeed, should I spend my time reading this book? Stakes don’t have to be as epic as Red October (saving the world from a cold war weapon), or Independence Day (saving the world from an alien invasion), or even a cultural level (Erin Brockovich – […]
Read the RestArchive | November, 2007
Self Therapy: What’s Important To A Scene?
Back from 12 days on the road, visiting family and friends, I sat down to work on Love Starts With Elle, my work in progress. (WIP for those who are new to this game.) I started editing chapter one, a chapter I’d edited many times, but as I worked it yesterday, I didn’t like it. Before vacation I did, so what happened? Panic. I felt the stakes weren’t high enough. Was the opening hook strong? Did Elle seem too sanguine? I pondered these questions while walking my dog, Pal, later in the evening. I was going to revamp my whole story, take my “soft” opening and drive some hard core plot point into it. Yet, I realized, stakes are raised gradually. Since this is a love story, I needed to […]
Read the RestDoctor’s Notes: More on Secondary Characters
Monday, we answered Julie’s question about secondary characters – how many is too many? How to keep them from being boring or flat? I’ve been thinking about this issue today and wondering how we can get creative with secondary characters. Think of a painting. Many times the artist will outline images with black in order to make them stand out. Sometimes, an artist covers an canvas in blue or orange before beginning to paint. These are accents that help the over all painting though the eye of the observer many never really notice. On the television show, Samatha Who, Samatha has two friends. One acts as Samatha’s good conscious, Dina. The other, her devilish side. Angela. The premise of the show is Samatha has lost her memory. She can’t remember […]
Read the RestAsk The Doc: How to handle secondary characters
Julie writes: My biggest problem right now is how to handle secondary characters. How many are too many? How do I keep them from taking over or stealing the scene? How do I keep the reader from being confused by them or, even worse, bored by them! Mine always seem to go overboard, and I have to spend too much time editing them back to size. Great question. I ran into a similar problem while writing Diva NashVegas. In my effort to create a large, super star world, I created too many extras for my set. So, I paired it down to those who were essential: assistant, manager, house manager and a few others as the scene allowed. This in addition to her love interests. Here are some guidelines to […]
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