Let’s talk just a moment about Sample Chapters. Every proposal package include sample chapters for the story you are proposing. Even if you are a multi-published author, you will have to write sample chapters for new contracts with new publishers, so it is wise to learn how to write them now. There are so many elements to writing decent sample chapters, and we’ve covered most of those topics over the past year, but I felt we needed to touch on them in order to fully cover the proposal package. When new authors read “Sample Chapters” in the submission requirements of an editor or publisher’s website, sometimes they are tempted to think… “I’ll pick my BEST chapters…chapter one, chapter eight, and chapter twenty-two.” Delete that thought. Editors DO […]
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Jump Jerry Shaw! The makings of a perfect ending
I admit it, I’m a Shia LaBeouf fan. I fell for him in Disturbia, then Transformers, then Indy and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and so I couldn’t wait to see him in Eagle Eye. Besides, the movie just looked great, with high action and an edge-of-your-seat premise. What if you had no control over your life? What would you do? I wasn’t disappointed. Eagle Eye had me on the edge of my seat the entire two hours, some of the time with my hands pressed up against my face (in fact, I think I even made red handprints). Non-stop action, great motivations, incredible conflict…a movie that took my breath away. Sometimes, in thrillers, let just say, uh….any of the Die Hard movies…we have a hero who is […]
Read the RestWhat makes a great black moment?
So, we’re almost to the end of our Heroes’ Journey! We’ve had our character change (and we touched on the Black moment in that discussion) and we’re off to storm the castle in our last battle. He’s been changed by events, and is a new man, and is trying to apply everything he learned…. But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s go back to that Black moment and just touch on the elements that make it profound. 1. Attack their Greatest Fears – emotionally and physically. Since the beginning of the story, you know what your hero fears the most…and you’ve been slowly pushing him to this place. You know that Frodo fears succumbing to the ring, or worse, his own hobbitness. You know […]
Read the RestWriting (High Action) Scenes
So, the last few weeks we’ve been talking about Character change – bringing him through the various steps, until he’s finally on his knees, (black moment) realizes what he needs to sacrifice to change, (epiphany) accepts the truth, and then emerges a new man to test his resolve and fight his final battle. Awesome. Lot’s of great theory and structure there. Now, let’s get specific with scene building for a bit here. We’ve already covered Scenes and Sequels (go to the articles section to read more) as well as action objectives. We’ve also talked about sizzling dialogue, paring your backstory to a minimum, and using strong sensory words to create mood. So let’s talk about how you put those elements together. It’s about beat, and drawing the reader […]
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