So, we’re almost to the end of our Heroes’ Journey! We’ve had our character change (and we touched on the Black moment in that discussion) and we’re off to storm the castle in our last battle. He’s been changed by events, and is a new man, and is trying to apply everything he learned…. But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s go back to that Black moment and just touch on the elements that make it profound. 1. Attack their Greatest Fears – emotionally and physically. Since the beginning of the story, you know what your hero fears the most…and you’ve been slowly pushing him to this place. You know that Frodo fears succumbing to the ring, or worse, his own hobbitness. You know […]
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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
Writing a A Not So High Action Scene
So yesterday, we went through a high action scene, working through the details that went beyond structure to words and cadence. “But, Susie, I don’t write a thriller!” you say. Not a problem. You can still write a riveting scene using the basic princicples I laid out yesterday…. First, we: Start with Setting and the Current State of Affairs Then we establish the Goals of the scene And we won’t forget to fortify the Motivations of your characters action/decisions Finally we can write the Action of the scene. And we’re going to pay special mind to the sentence structure and words we use to create mood. This excerpt is from Finding Stefanie – it’s a subplot character named Gideon who wakes up in Stefanie’s house after […]
Read the RestWriting (High Action) Scenes
So, the last few weeks we’ve been talking about Character change – bringing him through the various steps, until he’s finally on his knees, (black moment) realizes what he needs to sacrifice to change, (epiphany) accepts the truth, and then emerges a new man to test his resolve and fight his final battle. Awesome. Lot’s of great theory and structure there. Now, let’s get specific with scene building for a bit here. We’ve already covered Scenes and Sequels (go to the articles section to read more) as well as action objectives. We’ve also talked about sizzling dialogue, paring your backstory to a minimum, and using strong sensory words to create mood. So let’s talk about how you put those elements together. It’s about beat, and drawing the reader […]
Read the RestCome with Me over the mountains
We worship God in song and prayer, reading the Word. Perhaps with our money and time. Most of us like to think we are humble and submitted to God in most areas of our life, but… Are we partnering with Him? One common phrase I heard from Believers in this election season was, “Well, God’s in control. He’s going to do what He wants.” Not to discourage my Reform and Calvinistic friends because there is a truth and reality to God’s sovereignty, but we are His Elect. A royal priesthood, a chosen nation. As we humble ourselves, He hears. In Song of Solomon, Jesus the Bridegroom beckons us to partner with Him. “Come with me my fair one. Over the mountains and through the valleys.” We are called to interceded […]
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