Raise your hand if you’ve seen the new movie, The Vow. I haven’t, but I’m intrigued because it contains a twist on the premise of my new book, The Shadow of Your Smile. A wife loses her memory, and her husband has to woo her all over again. My story is different in that my hero and heroine have been married for 25 years, with a family and life. However, their marriage is on the rocks…so while they have a lot to lose, there’s also that sense that they’ve already “forgotten” each other. Still, as I was building my story, I thought – how will this be different? How can I make this story more powerful, with bigger issues to make it stand out in the market? How do I […]
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Conversations: The Four Pillars of a Best-Seller
I was drinking an extra tall vanilla latte, blinking back the sand in my eyes as Sally came in. A glorious Monday morning, the sun winking off the frosty waves of Lake Superior, the sky a triumphant eggshell blue, the snow glistening under all that grandeur like diamonds. Good thing, too, because I’d stayed up late watching both Casablanca and Pearl Harbor to prepare for our conversation this morning. I knew, after meeting with Sally for three weeks, she took our conversations seriously and wanted to be on my game. She sat down and pulled off her knitted mittens. “I started a notebook from last week, like you suggested.” She pulled out a hardbound journal with a leather cover and handed it to me. I opened it and to my […]
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Quick Skills Class: Characterization and Core Identity
Are you creating a new character and trying to figure out how to make him/her different from every other character you’ve created? Try this – Instead of picking out a name from thin air and then attaching a bunch of characteristics to your paper doll, start from the inside-out. Start with finding their core identity. Identity is not about what career you have – skydiver, wilderness EMT, policeman, lawyer, photographer, chef, teacher – but rather the person on the inside that has driven you to this destiny. A core identity starts with an adjective and ends with a proper noun. “My character is a [insert proper noun here].” Here’s how: Let’s take a firefighter, for example. We might automatically assume he’s a protector, or courageous. But let’s take a look […]
Read the RestMan up (Creating a Suspense Hero Day 1)
Today, we’re going to take a look at our suspense Hero. See, when you’re when you’re writing a suspense, it’s all about the guy who rises from the dust, the ball in hand. (Ooops, it’s playoff season. And I just watched the Pack (my second favorite team!) beat the Bears. Go Pack!) so you may get football illustrations) But, just as quick review, last week, we divided a suspense novel into three sections: Act 1: The Game The set up: Players, the Goals, the Rules, Board/Playing field. Act Two: The Guts All the great stuff happens during the Guts phase – confronting fears, reaching out in the darkness for the girl’s hand, stealing a kiss, and failing big, and learning something new about yourself. Act […]
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