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, […]
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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
How do you build strong motivation for your character? Chapter 3: The Start of the Noble Quest
How do you structure your novel? How many words in a scene, or pages in a chapter? I get that question a lot, because the truth is there is no “rule” and the answer seems to vary with author. Here’s my formula, and why. I write many different length books for different genres: Contemporary Romance, Long Historical, Short Romantic Suspense, Novellas… but they all have the same story structure. (Or, if you follow MBT teaching the same LINDYHOP. Life, Inciting Incident, Noble Quest, Disappointments, Help!, Overhaul, Perfect Ending). This means, on average, the First Act (LIN) is 15% of the story, and the Third Act (HOP) is 15-20% of the story. Poor D, or the Second Act takes up 60-70% of the story. Which is why, of course, you want […]
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Yesterday I posted the Meet the Girl scene for our Romantic Suspense novel, written in Luke’s POV. Read it here: Chapter 2.Scene 2.Luke with SMW Comments What are the things you need to cover in a Meet the Girl scene? Below find a checklist! 1. Remember to start with Storyworld/Anchoring! 2. Do we understand the state of the Love Life of the POV character? a. What is their history? b. Have they ever been in love? c. What holds them back from love? d. What kind of person do they need to meet? 3. What is your story structure – a Why/Why Not or a Why Not/Why? a. If it is a Why Not/Why, do you start with the essential conflict between them? Do you follow with a hint of the Why they might fall in love? […]
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