“How is your NaNoWriMo manuscript going?” I set my coffee down at the table where Sally sat waiting for me, drinking coffee and eating a cookie. A light frost tipped the grass outside, the lake frothy along the rocky shoreline. “I think my brain is shutting down. I’ve written about two thousand words a day, but I am running out of ideas on how to start my scene.” Sally broke off a piece of her monster cookie, the fresh-baked smell enough to make me wish I hadn’t eaten breakfast. “Have you done your scene preparation? Figured out Layer One: what kind of scene it is, and the 5 Ws’?” “Oh, that’s the easy part. And Layer Two isn’t so hard either. Creating Tension is easy once you understand the equation: […]
Read the RestArchive | Truth or Dare: Conversations with an aspiring novelist RSS feed for this section
Conversations: Build the foundation of a great scene
Sally was waiting for me as I walked into the coffee shop. The fallen leaves chased me inside and Kathy handed me a spicy pumpkin latte, with whip and a layer of caramel. I sat down at the table and couldn’t help note the frown on Sally’s face. “What?” “It’s just boring.” Her hand rested on a stack of printed manuscript papers. “I mean, the story is good…in my head. But it seems to lack…well, let’s put it this way; my husband fell asleep somewhere between page 87 and 103.” “Oh my,” I said, sipping the latte. Just the right balance of whipped crème sweetness and pumpkin pie spice. “So, what do you think is the problem?” “He says I have a great story, with great storyworld and fun dialogue and even […]
Read the RestConversations: Creating Scene Tension
I could see Sally’s breath crystallize in the air as she jogged up to the coffee shop door. Bruised and soggy leaves layered the parking lot – red, gold, purple. The sun had just baked the frost from the pink chrysanthemums blooming outside. Our little town crouched at the edge of winter – we could feel it in the air. The crisp tension of autumn, when any day we’d wake to a snowfall. The door jangled as Sally opened it. She caught my eye. “Sorry I’m late.” She dropped her backpack onto her chair. “Field trip day at school and I forgot to sign a permission slip. Congratulations on the game Friday night. I heard your son ran for a touchdown, and the other made a sack. I’ll bet it […]
Read the Rest
