So – I just gotta tell you about Darla. I do a lot of travelling and not long ago, I was sitting in the O’Hare Airport when a woman walked into the gate area. She was in her early twenties, and carried a backpack, which she held with a whitened fist. She sat down and began to fidget in her seat, checking her watch, looking at the gate, pawing through her bag. She pulled out a book, and clutched it to her chest a moment before opening it, and pulling out a highlighter. The books said, in large black ominous letters – How to get over your fear of flying. Periodically, she wiped her hands on her jeans, and blew out a long breath, as if she’d been holding it. […]
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The Big Event
Okay, so you’ve introduced your hero and heroine, and the stakes of the story, even hinted at their fears at the outset of the book…now, how do you weave in the SUSPENSE. First, let’s take a look at the defition of a suspense: An everyday hero or heroine confronts a believable, compelling, immediate and terrifying threat, and using their unique abilities, learning more, confronting their own lies and eventually finding a new strength, they overcome and win the day. The key to that definition is the word: EVENT E – Event – The EVENT in a suspense is the bad thing that will happen if the hero/heroine don’t stop it. It’s what is at STAKE in the story that propels our h/hn to face their darkest fears, summon their courage […]
Read the RestNikki’s Haunted House
Hey all! I’m back from Phili (waving to everyone who was at the Greater Phili Christian Writer’s Conference!) and ready to talk…SUSPENSE! I taught this class for the first time last week – and, as I was thinking about how to talk about suspense had, of course, to tell the story of Nikki Anderson’s haunted house. (just skip ahead if you’ve already heard this). Twelve years old. Halloween. Me and the neighbor boy. We stood outside my friend Nikki’s house from which oozed eerie cackling laughter and fake smoke and trembled. We’d heard her father was transforming the house for our yearly trick and treat around the neighborhood, but for the first time, I feared entering the one-story 1970’s rambler. My little heart thundered in my chest…what if something, you […]
Read the RestChecking in…and out…
Hey all!! I’m back from San Fran (had fun wow-ing my boys with my skydiving video – my 13 year old said, “Oh, I’m so jealous!” My 17 year old said, “Never in a million years!” and my 11 year old said, (and this is my favorite) “You are SO cool, mom!!” *grin* Anyway, I’m off tomorrow to Philadelphia for the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer’s Conference — SOOO, more fun pix of San Fran will have to wait. And I’ll bet you’re all thinking — HELLO, are we EVER going to talk about writing again? YES, YES!! Suspense is next on the agenda, and anticipation is the hallmark of Suspense….so….I’ll be blogging as soon as i get back next week. In the meantime, to get us started — WHAT ARE […]
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