This week we’ve bene talking about scenes – the difference between scenes and sequels, what action to put in a scene, and yesterday, what pov to focus on in a scene. Today, we’re going to get our dancing shoes out and talk about rhythm. Rhythm. A good scene has an unspoken rhythm or beat to them that sets the tone for the scene. It’s the beat of dialogue, narrative, and action, setting the tempo that whisks a reader through a scene, helping them to feel the music of the words and the character’s emotional journey. What makes up the rhythm of the story? 1. The hook sentence. Yes, I know I’m at it again, but the first sentence of the scene should hook the reader, raise their interest as they […]
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About Susan May Warren
Former Russian Missionary Susan May Warren is the best-selling author of more than 40 novels and novellas with Tyndale, Barbour and Steeple Hill, and Summerside. A Christy award and RITA winner, and multiple finalist for the RITA, Christy and winner of Inspirational Readers Choice contest, Susan currently has over a million books in print. A seasoned women’s events speaker and writing teacher, she is the founder of http://www.mybooktherapy.com an online community for writers, and runs a fiction editing service teaching writers how to tell a great story. Visit her online at: http://www.susanmaywarren.com.Author Archive | Susan May Warren
Braiding together your book in scenes
Yesterday we talked about the difference between a scene and a sequel. Today, let’s briefly touch on what to accentuate in a scene, regardless of what kind it is. (And from now on, I’ll be using the word Scene to refer to both kinds of scenes!) When my daughter Sarah was younger, she had long beautiful blonde hair. The Russians had this cool technique where they would tie a ribbon at the top of a braid, and weave it through the hair, and tie a huge bow at the end. I loved to do this to Sarah’s hair, seeing the blue or green or red ribbon threading through her hair. Writing a story is like Braiding Hair: Ideally, your plot will have many different threads – an action thread, with […]
Read the RestWriting a SEQUEL (and I’m not talking Book #2)
I’m back in the saddle here in MBT…(I am required to use cowboy terms as long as I have a COWBOY book on the market. That’s just way it is…*grin*). Seriously, I feel so out of it since taking off to Arkansas (but if you want to see a picture of me and Rach and the gang, it’s up on my website www.susanmaywarren.com). Anyway, last week Rachel took up the reins and posted on writing a SCENE. Great job, Rach! This week we’re going to continue with crafting our scenes by talking about the other half of a scene (a SEQUEL) which is also technically a scene, but a different kind of scene. We’ll also talk about what action to put into your scene, how to decide what pov your […]
Read the RestStill working on it!!
We had so many wonderful HOOK ‘em Dano entries (a number of people sent them right to my email (booktherapy@susanmaywarren.com). So, our team of Agents are still narrowing down the pack – look for the winner on tomorrow’s blog!! Thank you all who entered! Rachel and Susie
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