We talk a lot at My Book Therapy about “The Lie” journey. It’s an easy way we examine and layer in the Internal Journey of the character, and even tap into the spiritual element of the journey. The Lie is essential to every story because the lie defines the over arching emotional journey of the protagonist. And the truth is… we all believe a lie at some point in our life. We probably weave in and out of various lies our whole lives – from what others think about us to what we think about ourselves to what God thinks about us. Talking with one of my spiritual daughters, I learned she feared God would bring her to a certain place, then pull the rug out from under her. Let […]
Read the RestTag Archives | Lie journey
Continuing the Inner Journey…creating tension in the middle of your novel!
Yesterday we started our character’s spiritual journey by asking: What lie do they believe? (by the way, I often use this when chatting with children, or eve myself when confronted with behaviors that might not be healthy…it’s a good exercise!) Armed with the lie, the first thing you want to do on the journey, probably in that first scene is PROVE IT to your hero. (a note here – every POV character needs their own lie journey!) Step 2 – Confirmation of the Lie – Proof What can you do to convince the hero that his lie is true? You want to do something at the beginning of the book that will cement him into this lie – of course, it needs to be something that only pushes him deeper […]
Read the RestThe Inner Journey of your Suspense character
We’re discussing ACT 3 of a Suspense! Last week we broke apart the Black Moment. This week and next, we’re going to talk about the second part of the Black Moment…the inner journey element. The purpose of every story is the inner change of the POV characters. The external events are simply a catalyst to drive home the changes the characters need to make. At MBT, we call this the Lie Journey. As an overview, the premise of the Lie Journey is that every character has a lie they believe, based on something that happened in their past. This lie has determined their behavior and choices until the start of their journey. However, this journey is about breaking that lie and helping your character become a better person, or at […]
Read the RestAct 2: The Road to Truth
Last week, we covered the first two main elements of the GUTS section. The GUTS, or Act 2 of the book is the section where more stories get flabby and boring…or, it can be the part where the story really takes and starts rockin’. We touched on the first two elements – 1. The Growing relationship of the hero and heroine. 2. The Unexpected twists and turns. Both of these elements, however, are tools of the next element… 3. The Truth. Or, the Spiritual, Romantic & Plot truths that lead to the eventual epiphany. In Act 2, as the hero and heroine progress through challenges, triumphs and failure, they will learn tiny life lessons, or truths that contribute to the epiphany they will encounter after the black […]
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