Susan May Warren

About Susan May Warren

Former Russian Missionary Susan May Warren is the best-selling author of more than 40 novels and novellas with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill, and Summerside. A Christy award and RITA winner, and multiple finalist for the RITA, Christy and winner of Inspirational Readers Choice contest, Susan currently has over a million books in print. A seasoned women’s events speaker and writing teacher, she is the founder of http://www.mybooktherapy.com an online community for writers, and runs a fiction editing service teaching writers how to tell a great story. Visit her online at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com.

Author Archive | Susan May Warren

Ask the Doctor: How do I determine my character’s Noble Cause?

I talk a lot about the Noble Cause, or purpose of a character as a key to discovering their motivations behind their actions. A Noble Cause is that one thing that drives a character through a story, whether it be a thriller (i.e., saving someone from being killed), or a romance (fighting for true love). But how does one determine the Noble Cause? I always start by asking the question of my character – What makes you the person you are today? His history will show you the things that molded him. Was he abandoned as a child? Perhaps, then, his Noble Cause is family, and never abandoning his own children. But let’s say he didn’t have a traumatic past – then ask: What is worth fighting for, and why? […]

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Prescriptions: Listen To Me!

There you are, you’ve got a blank computer screen, and the smallest tickle of an idea, something you’ve read, or seen, some question you think might be interesting tackled in a book. But where do you go from there? How do you turn a blip of an idea into a full novel, one that will resonate with readers? Christian books should reach beyond our hearts to touch our souls. Regardless of the genre — suspense, romance, historical, or chick lit — stories can touch our lives, even change us. And, while plot lines are important…it is characters that drive stories. When we think of the Hunt for Red October, we think of Jack Ryan. When we think of the Fugitive, we think of Dr. Richard Kimball. Characters drive the plot. […]

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Doctor’s Notes: Creating Story World

Why, why, why is JK Rowling’s Potter series so popular? What is it about her stories that capture us so, that make us, and roughly 500 million other readers, stand in line for days to get their hands on the latest 800 page offering? Aside from the depth of characterization, the twisting, detailed plot, the epic good vs. evil theme, I think there is one thing that makes Rowling’s book (and other classics, like Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis) riveting, and a story we can lose ourselves in for hours, or days. It’s…Story World. What do I mean? It’s that world the reader enters into in the book. EVERY BOOK HAS A STORY WORLD. Whether it’s a fantasy book, a contemporary romance, a historical suspense. Every book must have a backdrop […]

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What is Book Therapy?

Are you ready to take your book to the next level? You can be a published author… You know you want it…We know you can do it! Let us help! Frustrated?  Confused? …Dreaming of the day when an editor calls and says, “I MUST publish your book?”  Don’t laugh — it could happen, it does happen, all the time, and you could be next! What’s holding you back?  Flat characters?  A Saggy plot?  Lackluster writing?  Let the Book Therapists help. We believe that deep inside every troubled story lies a deep-seated problem. But it’s not beyond hope… Your book simply needs therapy.  In Book Therapy you are guided through the elements of a book, learning one-on-one with someone who has crafted words (sometimes misbehaving words!) into successful stories and suffered […]

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