Yesterday, we talked about the use of Public and Private Stakes to raise the epic element of your suspense, and drive your reader through the story. But that is only one part of the equation. You need motivation as well. You need to employ something I call the PUSH-PULL. Let’s start at the beginning of the story: Your character will need a motivation to start them on their journey. Some Why and What do they want? This is easy – you simply take a look at their greatest dreams and give them glimpse of hope that they can achieve them early on in the story. But that’s when things get tough. See, on every great journey, there is conflict – or obstacles along the way. And your character will […]
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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
“I couldn’t put it down!” Using Stakes and Motivations to build riveting suspense!
I saw two suspense movies this weekend: I am Number Four and Unstoppable. Both were enjoyable – both captured my attention and moved me into the story. But neither of were epic. Neither of them made me care, rooted me to my seat in fear, or made me jump from it yelling. Why? Because they both lacked the key elements of Stake and Motivation. The key to a great story is the combination of both, and this is the third element needed in a great suspense. In a riveting suspense, there is always a rising interplay of balance between the motivation and stakes of the story. As things get worse, and their fears grow, so also do their motivations to defeat the fears. Let’s start […]
Read the RestI ain’t afraid of nuthin! (Creating the Perfect Suspense Heroine Day 2)
Yesterday, we talked about how to make the plot personal for your heroine so that she’ll leave her life and jump into the world of the suspense. That personal element is what will keep your heroine running forward, despite the looming fears before her. Case in point – I hate caves, especially a submerged cave. Never would I ever enter a cave under water. However, if my child was trapped inside, you betchya. Just a simple illustration, but if you were using me as your suspense heroine, this would be a great fear to dangle before me to ramp up the stakes. I’d have to reach deep inside and find the courage to fit myself through one of those dark, slimy crevasses. Which leads me to […]
Read the RestI’m a girl, I can’t lift heavy things! (A study on creating the Perfect Suspense Heroine)
Who is the perfect suspense heroine? A courageous woman? A timid woman? A strong woman? A fragile woman? A confident woman? A struggling woman? When I first met my husband, twenty –two years ago, I was a strong, lithe, hard core camping woman who could carry a Duluth pack and a canoe alone on a portage. I thought I was sooooo tough. In our group of fellow guides, there was a girl who loved asking the guys to carry things for her. “I’m a girl, I can’t lift heavy things!” she’d say and I’d roll my eyes. Never, I vowed, would I ask a man to carry things for me. Then came the day when I was trying to carry a baby, a toddler, our carryon, a diaper […]
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