We’re building a suspense book live here at MBT, and today we’re onto Act 2, pressing our heroine in to what I call the “fun and games” of the story. As I talked about yesterday, I’m going to address the following elements as I build her scene. First, we are going to start chapter 4 in Kenzie’s POV since we just ended Chapter 3 with Luke. I don’t always have to alternate, but it’s a nice rhythm. We’ll begin with a ReAction scene and since it’s a suspense, I’ll keep the momentum going by segueing into an Action scene. My ReAction scene elements are: Response – Now that she’s seen the “vacation home,” she has to have a reaction to it. We might thread this in with her inner journey […]
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Setting up Act 2 of your Suspense Novel
It’s time to set up Act 2 of your Suspense novel, and I’m going to show you how by moving onto Act 2 of Limelight, our MBT Romantic Suspense novel today. In Act 1, we’ve set up the foundation for the suspense – the players, what’s at stake, where the game will be played (the Cherokee forest). I’ve also set up sympathy, competence and greatest fears – those things that we’ll start manipulating in Act 2. As I begin chapter 4, and the start of the Second Act, I need to balance a number of threads and ignite the story to keep it flowing into what I call the Fun and Games of Act 2. Suspense Thread: First, I need to keep the suspense thread running by bringing the threat […]
Read the RestHow to Craft the Motivation for a Noble Quest
How do you build a powerful Noble Quest for your character, launching him off into his Second Act Journey with enough motivation, yet enough reward waiting at the end? This section of your story is pivotal because you must have built enough Want for your character to propel him through all the obstacles and disappointments of Act 2, all the way to the Black Moment. Often, when we don’t believe in a character, if they seem “too stupid to live,” it’s because we haven’t built enough WANT. This can be solved by using the Push-Pull Technique. I’ve heard them called MRU – Motivation, Reaction Units. This technique is more about building a solid motivation to convince us of the Reaction and can easily be added to the MRU technique. Again, […]
Read the RestHow to Write a Suspense: Chapter 2 Checklist
Yesterday, we talked about the considerations that go into crafting Chapter 2 of your novel. To see an application of these considerations, read Kenzie’s scene: Chapter 2.Scene 2.Kenzie with SMW Comments Here’s a checklist for you as you craft your chapter: Chapter 2 is The Great Debate. Have I anchored my reader into the scene with enough storyworld/facts? Have I recapped what happened so far, to remind the reader of the danger? What are the choices before your character? What will each choice cost them? What is at stake for the POV character? (IOW: what will happen if they don’t act?) Why should they act? Why shouldn’t they? What is the best choice, and what is their motivation behind choosing that? (IOW: hint at their backstory just enough to establish […]
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