Sceneflow: the difference between a suspense scene and a romance scene? If you read the last two weeks of posts and chapters about Limelight, you’ll notice that I took a bit more time in those chapters to develop the romance. (Read Chapter 5 & 6 Here Chapter 5 Luke Chapter 6 Kenzie) I could have split those chapters into shorter scenes/segments, but I wanted to really cement the romance between them before I launched more into the suspense. Note they were longer chapters– as the book starts to move faster, I’ll have shorter chapters, or perhaps two or three shorter scenes in a chapter. So, now that I’ve given them their first kiss, we’re about half-way through the story. (For the purposes of teaching, I’m keeping this novella at 12 chapters – […]
Read the RestTag Archives | Act 2
Act 2: Deepening the Romance Thread
Yesterday, we reviewed the Whys of falling in love, and how we might build that into our romance. Just to add a shameless plug here – if you want to know how to build a full-fledged romance, try Kiss and Tell, my brand new workbook on writing a romance! (Check it out here: http://stores.mybooktherapy.com) So, bringing this back to the story: How do the hero and heroine complete each other? For Kenzie, it’s that she remembers who she is. For Luke, it’s the sense that he doesn’t have to be alone. I’ll be building on that in the next scene. Once I figure out the romance element I’m building, I’ll also take a look at the kind of scene I’m building. In this case, it’s a combo scene […]
Read the RestAct 2: Let’s build the Romance!
In the last chapter I posted, I dipped into a developed, romantic scene with Luke. [Chapter 4 Makenzie scene.] I’m going to turn my attention to Kenzie. Although we’re focusing on suspense this year on the blog, this is a romantic suspense, so occasionally during the story I need to slow it down and allow the romance to take over ever so briefly. During these forays into the romance, I need to make sure I’m utilizing my opportunity, because I don’t have a lot of time – I’ll need to cut back to the suspense soon. Therefore, I’ll be looking toward building in some of those essential elements of a romance, building like values, physical attraction, and the sense that they either complete each other or make each other into better […]
Read the RestA trick to jumpstarting your next chapter
Yesterday, I showed you a little trick I use to keep the momentum going between chapters. Here’s how I’m going to apply that trick! After I interview my character and let him take a little breather to recoup for the next scene, I begin to mull this interview over and take notes. (you do keep a book buddy beside you to help you write your chapters, right?) Here are my loose notes on the next scene: Luke POV. Show that Kenzie is trying to not be a burden, but she’s bored. Maybe he finds her acting out a scene? Keep up with the suspense thread….what is happening with Dark Secret? Does he Google the book? Does she see it? Have her in town, doing something mundane like the […]
Read the Rest
