I started reading a great book last week and about a third of the way through a thought hit me: What if THE HEROINE was THE HERO and THE HERO was THE HEROINE? Meaning, what if their rolls were reversed? Suddenly the book became much more interesting and the one on my Kindle seem kind of status quo. Sure, some of the other plot points would be different if SHE was a HE, but it would also raise new, more intriguing plot obstacles. In an historical book, it might be hard to switch rolls. If you were writing about the Alamo, it would be hard to have a man spying on General Santa Anna since the spy was a female prostitute. But, what if you took an historical event, like […]
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Conversations: The basics of writing a Suspense Novel
“How is your writing going? Do you feel ready to dive into crafting the Black Moment and Epiphany?” I asked Sally as she came to the table with a chai latte. “Not yet. I want to write a suspense into my romance.” Sally sat down and pulled out her notebook. Outside, the sun shrank the snow banks, spring in the air. “I watched Eagle Eye on FX over the weekend, and I realized how much I love suspense.” “I love suspense too,” I said. “A romantic suspense combines the fun of falling in love with that edge-of-your-seat-fear that the people we care about could get killed. “Let’s take a look at what that would mean for your story. Writing a romantic suspense means adding another story structure/plot to your novel. […]
Read the RestMan up (Creating a Suspense Hero Day 1)
Today, we’re going to take a look at our suspense Hero. See, when you’re when you’re writing a suspense, it’s all about the guy who rises from the dust, the ball in hand. (Ooops, it’s playoff season. And I just watched the Pack (my second favorite team!) beat the Bears. Go Pack!) so you may get football illustrations) But, just as quick review, last week, we divided a suspense novel into three sections: Act 1: The Game The set up: Players, the Goals, the Rules, Board/Playing field. Act Two: The Guts All the great stuff happens during the Guts phase – confronting fears, reaching out in the darkness for the girl’s hand, stealing a kiss, and failing big, and learning something new about yourself. Act […]
Read the RestBut I’m so broken inside…
Yesterday, we talked out the PLOT or EXTERNAL Obstacles (Why Nots) that keep our characters apart. The point of a great romance is for love to overcome the obstacles and triumph! So, without obstacles….well, there’s no story. I’ll say it again. YOU MUST HAVE EXTERNAL OBSTACLES! (Yes, that was shouting). Now that we have that settled…let’s turn to the Internal Reasons why we (and our characters) run from love. This is the easy part. We can all come up with a long list of the reasons why we are unloveable. Our sins, our flaws, or fears, our idiosyncrasies….you name it. It’s a wonder we don’t all live in an igloo. The problem with finding internal obstacles is often authors either; 1. Pick too many or… 2. Focus […]
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