“I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve last talked.” Sally said as she came into the coffee shop. “And with Memorial Day today, and the fact I haven’t written in about four years, I feel like I’ve lost all momentum on my chapters.” Outside, Anne was planting geraniums in the coffee shop planters. The sun glinted off the lake, and the smell of lilacs hung in the air. I had a tan from the weekend Memorial Day and couldn’t wait to get home to our family barbeque. “Oh, I hear that.” I said. “I haven’t written for five days and it can be frustrating when you walk away from your novel with your ideas still trapped in your brain. One of my biggest frustrations in writing a novel is […]
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Conversations: What is Scene Tension?
“Happy Mother’s Day, Sally,” I said, while holding a plate of basil mashed potatoes and beef medallions. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that broccoli salad – the house specialty – and eyed it as another patron of the Sunday Brunch dived in. Sally looked up as she spooned smoked salmon onto her plate. “Hello.” She glanced behind me, and I saw one of her children, the six year old, heading into the buffet line. “How’s the writing going?” “Good,” she said as she reached around me, handing him a plate. “Don’t spill.” She stepped out of line. “I don’t know if we can meet tomorrow. I have a school field trip.” “No problem, I said, we’re just going to talk about Scene Structure.” She made a face. […]
Read the RestConversations: Building your story through the rhythm of scenes
The sun tugged at the irises peeking from the dirt edging the coffee shop. Another month in the northland and spring might actually arrive, cascade into summer. I found Sally at our table, grinning at me. “What?” “Now that I know my characters, and my story structure, I think we’re coming to the best part – the scenes.” “You’re right. At least, that’s my favorite part about writing. Because we can talk big picture and characters all day long, but when you create scenes, you are bringing the story to life. Think of every book as live action that we can observe, like a movie. In fact, for me, writing is not unlike viewing a movie…I close my eyes, see the scene and walk through it with the reader.” “That’s what […]
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Conversations: Summary of the Three Act Structure of a Novel
“I think I just need to sum up.” Sally sat on the deck of the coffee shop, staring out at the lake, the waves frothy along the shore as it coughs up the debris of winter. A spring fragrance seasons the air, and from the earth around the deck, irises brave the crisp Minnesota air. Any warmer, and we might be out here in our shirtsleeves, so anxious we are for summer. I sit down, lift my face to the sun. “Sum away.” “I just want to make sure I have the Three Acts correct. I know we discussed them all, and then I dove right into my synopsis, but I just need to make sure I understand the overall flow of story structure.” “I’m all ears.” “Okay, in Act […]
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