I love fall. I love the smell of decaying leave, the sound of them crunching under my feet or as they tickle across the lawn, thrown by the wind. I love the colors – the blush reds, the pumpkin oranges, the golden yellows. The touch of frost in my nose in the morning. I can taste winter on the crisp breeze, and I know someday I’ll awake to the fresh grace of snow blanketing my yard. Or, maybe it’s just the change I love, because, well, I love spring too. There’s something exhilarating about change, about the transition from old to new. It’s probably what empowers us Minnesotans to endure the long months of winter (especially as it turns dreary right around March). And probably, it’s that promise of something […]
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Pit Stop! Conference Thoughts
Susie’s son Pete had his first football practice yesterday. He’s only been waiting 7 months, working out nearly every day, lifting weights, running, watching football, analyzing plays. If there was ever a kid who had football in his blood, it’s her 13 year old. Next year he’ll be eligible for the High School team and then the fun really begins. Until then, he has big dreams of impressing his coach. “I did well today,” he said when Suz picked him up from school. “I’m not as fast out of the snap as I want to be, but I make up for it with speed.” She could see his wheels turning, trying to figure this out in his mind. “Except, if I go too fast, the coach will put me in […]
Read the RestWe’re Having A Party
My Book Therapy is all about Self- Therapy – meaning, Friends, Faith, Fun and Food! So – let’s get together! You know that empty spot on your ACFW Conference schedule (if you’re going!) on Friday night between 6-8 p.m.? Where other people might be taking off to hang with their publisher or critique group or just a gang of writers they met at conference, well… Come hang out with the VOICES in the first ever My Book Therapy Voices PIZZA PARTY! Meet your fellow voices face to face. Give your input about how to improve My Book Therapy and Voices Talk about writing And hear what’s in store for MBT in the next year! There might even be a fun bag of goodies to take home! When: Friday, September 19th, […]
Read the RestTricks or Treats
So you’ve figured out your BIG EVENT, and made it believeable and compelling and immediate and threatening. But to really create a great suspense, you new a few TRICKS! Here’s the first one: Grab ‘em with a HOOK from the first line. The suspense Hook is essential for a great story. Your hook should, set the tone, start with your hero/heroine in action, hint at the stakes and raise a story question. However, there is one key that every suspense hook needs to have: Intrigue. Why? How? What? It needs to raise one of these questions right at the beginning. Here are some of my hooks: The past had picked the worst time to find her. (What?) from Flee the Night Out of all FSB Agent Yanna Andrevka’s bright ideas, masquerading […]
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