Archive | October, 2011

Ten Common Author Mistakes. #9

By on October 13, 2011 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics, Hero, Heroine, Heroism, The Hero's Journey Simplified

Forgetting to weave in the story elements and symbolism. Definition: If you want to use a metaphor, like a world event or a family trait or tradition to show a contrast in the hero or heroine’s life, you must layer it in.   If the heroine’s life if falling a part, coming down around her like 9-11, don’t tell the reader, “her life was just like the twin towers…coming down around her.”   Weave it.   The scene opens. It’s 9-11, the heroine is preparing breakfast. She calls her husband down to breakfast but he doesn’t show up. When she goes to see what’s taking him so long, she finds him collapsed on the bathroom floor, dead.   As she’s calling 911, her best friend buzzes in. The twin towers […]

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Act 2: Putting all the threads together

By on October 11, 2011 in 6. Search by Series:, Chapter 4, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Managing the Muddle (keeping your story moving!), Story Crafting, Susan May Warren, Suspense, Want to see a book in Action? Read the Blog-a-Book Series, Writing your Suspense Chapters

We’re building a suspense book live here at MBT, and today we’re onto Act 2, pressing our heroine in to what I call the “fun and games” of the story. As I talked about yesterday, I’m going to address the following elements as I build her scene. First, we are going to start chapter 4 in Kenzie’s POV since we just ended Chapter 3 with Luke.  I don’t always have to alternate, but it’s a nice rhythm.  We’ll begin with a ReAction scene and since it’s a suspense, I’ll keep the momentum going by segueing into an Action scene. My ReAction scene elements are: Response – Now that she’s seen the “vacation home,” she has to have a reaction to it.   We might thread this in with her inner journey […]

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Setting up Act 2 of your Suspense Novel

By on October 10, 2011 in Limelight – Sample Novel, Managing the Muddle (keeping your story moving!), Story Crafting, Susan May Warren, Suspense, Want to see a book in Action? Read the Blog-a-Book Series, Writing your Suspense Chapters

It’s time to set up Act 2 of your Suspense novel, and I’m going to show you how by moving onto  Act 2 of Limelight, our MBT Romantic Suspense novel today. In Act 1, we’ve set up the foundation for the suspense – the players, what’s at stake, where the game will be played (the Cherokee forest). I’ve also set up sympathy, competence and greatest fears – those things that we’ll start manipulating in Act 2. As I begin chapter 4, and the start of the Second Act, I need to balance a number of threads and ignite the story to keep it flowing into what I call the Fun and Games of Act 2. Suspense Thread:  First, I need to keep the suspense thread running by bringing the threat […]

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Ten Common Author Mistakes. #8

By on October 6, 2011 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics, Rachel Hauck, Secondary Characters

My Best Friend’s Wedding Neglecting to create dynamic secondary characters. Definition: Secondary characters are the protagonist, and the author’s best friend. A great story telling tool. They widen the stage, round out the story, spotlight the protagonist. They help tell the story. They add depth. They add conflict. They add humor. They reveal truth. It’s so easy to get caught up in creating our protagonist(s) we often forget to layer and deepen other characters. The end up being placeholders or sound bit machines. Secondary characters need to have a goal. A purpose. A hint at a problem. They can be a bit shallower than the main characters, and a bit two-dimensional, a bit more flippant, a bit more of a hyperbole. Use secondary characters to show the heart and depth […]

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