How do you build a powerful Noble Quest for your character, launching him off into his Second Act Journey with enough motivation, yet enough reward waiting at the end? This section of your story is pivotal because you must have built enough Want for your character to propel him through all the obstacles and disappointments of Act 2, all the way to the Black Moment. Often, when we don’t believe in a character, if they seem “too stupid to live,” it’s because we haven’t built enough WANT. This can be solved by using the Push-Pull Technique. I’ve heard them called MRU – Motivation, Reaction Units. This technique is more about building a solid motivation to convince us of the Reaction and can easily be added to the MRU technique. Again, […]
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How do you build strong motivation for your character? Chapter 3: The Start of the Noble Quest
How do you structure your novel? How many words in a scene, or pages in a chapter? I get that question a lot, because the truth is there is no “rule” and the answer seems to vary with author. Here’s my formula, and why. I write many different length books for different genres: Contemporary Romance, Long Historical, Short Romantic Suspense, Novellas… but they all have the same story structure. (Or, if you follow MBT teaching the same LINDYHOP. Life, Inciting Incident, Noble Quest, Disappointments, Help!, Overhaul, Perfect Ending). This means, on average, the First Act (LIN) is 15% of the story, and the Third Act (HOP) is 15-20% of the story. Poor D, or the Second Act takes up 60-70% of the story. Which is why, of course, you want […]
Read the RestChecklist for Meet the Girl Scene
Yesterday I posted the Meet the Girl scene for our Romantic Suspense novel, written in Luke’s POV. Read it here: Chapter 2.Scene 2.Luke with SMW Comments What are the things you need to cover in a Meet the Girl scene? Below find a checklist! 1. Remember to start with Storyworld/Anchoring! 2. Do we understand the state of the Love Life of the POV character? a. What is their history? b. Have they ever been in love? c. What holds them back from love? d. What kind of person do they need to meet? 3. What is your story structure – a Why/Why Not or a Why Not/Why? a. If it is a Why Not/Why, do you start with the essential conflict between them? Do you follow with a hint of the Why they might fall in love? […]
Read the RestChapter 2: Meet the Girl!
It’s time to Meet the Girl! Writing a romantic suspense has its own challenges – not only does the author have to deal with the suspense storyline, but the romance must be threaded in as well, usually in equal parts. Because we’ve already jumpstarted the suspense in chapter 1, Kenzie’s scene, and moved her forward into the Noble Quest (staying alive!) in Chapter 2, we’re now going to turn our focus on Luke, our hero. In Luke’s first scene, in Chapter 1, we started in his home world, and because the suspense plot hadnt’ quite touched him yet, I started out with a glimpse at his character, the heroic man he is, and a taste of what he’ll do for others (namely, risk his life). And, although his first scene […]
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