Yesterday we talked about creating that sympathetic opening for our hero that helps the reader connect with him and forgive him (just in case he starts doing things like break the law…or people). What other elements does a Suspense Hero need? Competence. Our hero has to be GOOD at something. Maybe it’s not anything we see right away, but some skill that he uses to save the day. See, everyone has something they are good at, even if they don’t know it and a great suspense brings this out. It challenges the hero’s abilities at each turn, and yet in the end, it’s this hidden competence, or rekindled competence that saves the day. In Eagle Eye, we see that our hero can talk fast to get himself […]
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Spend a year On the Edge with My Book Therapy!
It’s time to put a little Thriller into My Book Therapy. No, we’re not going to dance (yet!) but it’s time we catered to the NON-romance author/readers of this blog. Yes, we know you’re out there, and you’ve been ever so patient last year as we talked about Romance. Hopefully, however, you learned a few applicable romantic secrets anyway. This year, oh suspense writers, is for you. This year, on MBT we’re going to spend a year On the Edge, examining the craft of Suspense. As fair warning, we will veer into how to weave romance into yoru suspense for a week or two, should we have those out there who want to straddle the fence. Still, the focus this year will be on the framework, suspense […]
Read the RestTutorial on Showing verses Telling
Showing verses telling is a common topic in writing circles, especially among new writers. It can get kind of confusing after awhile because there are soooo many thoughts on how to show and not tell, variations on definitions, etc. It’s crazy. Will you do some telling? Yes! If you write, “His brown hair curled over his forehead,” that’s “telling.” You just told me what his hair was doing. Telling in the arena of doing, action, (she walked across the room) description is… wait for it… PROSE. Books are compiled for prose and dialog. So yes, describe things, tell the reader things, except… For how the characters are feeling. SHOW me emotion. SHOW me action that applied to the emotion. SHOW me the heroine or heros actions. Imagine you’re sitting in […]
Read the RestWriting to The End
I’m about done with a first draft of a book I started the first of November. I’m quite satisfied with having written 76k words in six weeks, but I have a few more to go before writing The End. Then, I’ll start all over. The story needs a lot of sanding and polishing. But I like what I have so far. Usually, about 2/3rds through the first draft, I make a major discovery that sort of brings the whole story together for me. I’ll stop writing forward and go back to the beginning and rewrite. The process usually goes quickly because I know what I’m doing. But this time, I’m not stopping. I’ve made some major character discoveries. I’m even changing a major character’s setting. But that’s okay. I’m not […]
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