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Ten Common Author Mistakes. #9

By on October 13, 2011 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics, Hero, Heroine, Heroism, The Hero's Journey Simplified

Forgetting to weave in the story elements and symbolism. Definition: If you want to use a metaphor, like a world event or a family trait or tradition to show a contrast in the hero or heroine’s life, you must layer it in.   If the heroine’s life if falling a part, coming down around her like 9-11, don’t tell the reader, “her life was just like the twin towers…coming down around her.”   Weave it.   The scene opens. It’s 9-11, the heroine is preparing breakfast. She calls her husband down to breakfast but he doesn’t show up. When she goes to see what’s taking him so long, she finds him collapsed on the bathroom floor, dead.   As she’s calling 911, her best friend buzzes in. The twin towers […]

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Ten Common Author Mistakes. #8

By on October 6, 2011 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics, Rachel Hauck, Secondary Characters

My Best Friend’s Wedding Neglecting to create dynamic secondary characters. Definition: Secondary characters are the protagonist, and the author’s best friend. A great story telling tool. They widen the stage, round out the story, spotlight the protagonist. They help tell the story. They add depth. They add conflict. They add humor. They reveal truth. It’s so easy to get caught up in creating our protagonist(s) we often forget to layer and deepen other characters. The end up being placeholders or sound bit machines. Secondary characters need to have a goal. A purpose. A hint at a problem. They can be a bit shallower than the main characters, and a bit two-dimensional, a bit more flippant, a bit more of a hyperbole. Use secondary characters to show the heart and depth […]

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How to Craft the Motivation for a Noble Quest

By on October 4, 2011 in 2. Create Your Story, Editing Basics, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Push Pull, Susan May Warren, Suspense, Want to see a book in Action? Read the Blog-a-Book Series, What is the Noble Cause?, Writing your Suspense Chapters

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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How do you build strong motivation for your character? Chapter 3: The Start of the Noble Quest

By on October 3, 2011 in Editing Basics, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Push Pull, Suspense, Want to see a book in Action? Read the Blog-a-Book Series, What is the Noble Cause?, Writing your Suspense Chapters

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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