This week we’ve bene talking about scenes – the difference between scenes and sequels, what action to put in a scene, and yesterday, what pov to focus on in a scene. Today, we’re going to get our dancing shoes out and talk about rhythm. Rhythm. A good scene has an unspoken rhythm or beat to them that sets the tone for the scene. It’s the beat of dialogue, narrative, and action, setting the tempo that whisks a reader through a scene, helping them to feel the music of the words and the character’s emotional journey. What makes up the rhythm of the story? 1. The hook sentence. Yes, I know I’m at it again, but the first sentence of the scene should hook the reader, raise their interest as they […]
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Choosing the Point of View Character
I hope everyone is enjoying this weeks discussion on Scenes and Sequels. Part of a great scene is seeing the action, and hearing the dialog through the point of view character. When you’re getting ready to write a scene, it’s important to consider from whose eyes and ears are we looking and listening. Of course, if you’re writing in first person with a single character view, the decision is made for you. But, if your story has multiple points of view, pause to consider which character will tell the scene best. Choose the character that has the most to lose. Here’s an example. In Love Starts With Elle, the book I just finished for Thomas Nelson, I’d written a scene from Elle’s point of view because from the beginning of […]
Read the RestBraiding together your book in scenes
Yesterday we talked about the difference between a scene and a sequel. Today, let’s briefly touch on what to accentuate in a scene, regardless of what kind it is. (And from now on, I’ll be using the word Scene to refer to both kinds of scenes!) When my daughter Sarah was younger, she had long beautiful blonde hair. The Russians had this cool technique where they would tie a ribbon at the top of a braid, and weave it through the hair, and tie a huge bow at the end. I loved to do this to Sarah’s hair, seeing the blue or green or red ribbon threading through her hair. Writing a story is like Braiding Hair: Ideally, your plot will have many different threads – an action thread, with […]
Read the RestWriting a SEQUEL (and I’m not talking Book #2)
I’m back in the saddle here in MBT…(I am required to use cowboy terms as long as I have a COWBOY book on the market. That’s just way it is…*grin*). Seriously, I feel so out of it since taking off to Arkansas (but if you want to see a picture of me and Rach and the gang, it’s up on my website www.susanmaywarren.com). Anyway, last week Rachel took up the reins and posted on writing a SCENE. Great job, Rach! This week we’re going to continue with crafting our scenes by talking about the other half of a scene (a SEQUEL) which is also technically a scene, but a different kind of scene. We’ll also talk about what action to put into your scene, how to decide what pov your […]
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