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Extreme Book Makeover: Help Me Hook My Reader: Starting on the RUN!

By on March 3, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, Crafting the Inciting Incident, Extreme Book Makeover, Susan May Warren

I watched the Oscars last night. (Best. Oscars. Ever. #OscarTwitterPic #PizzaDelivery)

I’d only seen one of the movies in the Best Picture category – Gravity. In fact, I saw it this weekend, in our home theater, where I think I only breathed twice in an hour. Terrifying, in a non-horror-film, wow-I-never-want-to-be-there way.

The story, in a nutshell, is about a scientist who is working on the space shuttle – specifically OUTSIDE the shuttle in a spacewalk – when, due to a crazy set of circumstances — she gets untethered and thrown into space. Her quest is to somehow get back to earth.

It’s an amazing movie – the special effects will blow your mind.

And, it’s a great example of starting a movie with just the right amount of PIPE.

Pipe is the distance between the first sentence and the Noble Quest. As an author, you’re opening the faucet of your story, and the pipe is how long it takes for it to start spilling out. The shorter the pipe, the sooner your reader receives the benefit of the story.

However, many authors suffer from Too Much Pipe Syndrome, or the belief that they must tell their reader everything about their main character before the story starts for the reader to enjoy the story. Another way to put it is they start their story way too early.

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Help! How do I make my reader care?

By on February 24, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, 2. Create Your Story, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I write Emotions?, Susan May Warren

I sat on the tarmac on my way to Florida for five hours last week (#IloveMinnesotaweather), and while we were waiting, I stirred up a conversation with my seatmate.

“What do you do for a living?”  I asked.

“I break into building to check their security.”

#Cool!

Poor guy suddenly discovered the dangers of sitting next to a novelist. By the time the plane took off, we’d plotted a story about a man living two different lives – a spy living in suburbia, posing as a regular guy.

Then came the moment when we had to figure out the first scene.  “We need to make him relatable,” I said to 24B.  “Someone who the reader can relate to.”

“Why?” 24B asked. “He’s not a regular guy.”

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Extreme Book Makeover: Help! How do I hook my reader?

By on February 17, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, 6. Search by Series:, Extreme Book Makeover, Susan May Warren

Any book can be fixed – it just needs and Extreme Book Makeover. Over the past month we’ve been diagnosing common problems of a boring plot and how to fix them. We touched on Story Stakes – and the importance of understanding what your character has to lose. We talked about the Story Question – the fuel for the inner journey. And we discussed the difference between High Concept and Low Concept plots. But those are all big picture issues with plot. Once you solve those, an author must understand the key elements of the Three Act plot to keep the momentum going in the story. Briefly, Act One is the ignition – it sets up the character(s)’ wants, goals and fears, then sets them on a journey into Act […]

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Extreme Book Makeover: Help! Why would someone pick up my story?

By on February 10, 2014 in 1. Discover your story, 2. Create Your Story, Crafting a Strong Premise, Extreme Book Makeover, How do I create a Storyquestion and Stakes for my story?, How do I Pitch my Book?, Susan May Warren

Make your reader care with the Story Question!

Why should someone pick up your story and read it – all the way to the end? We talked the last two weeks about having Story Stakes – or a reason your character should care about your story by giving your character something to lose. Last week we dissected the difference between High Concept and Low Concept stories (and how tell the difference), noting that High Concept stories are driven by high public & personal stakes, whereas Low Concept stories are fueled by the characters’ inner journeys, or the private stakes.

This week, we’re going to add another potent ingredient to the mix…the fuel for the inner journey of your character, the Story Question.

The Story Question is that question your character is asking as the book opens, ignited by the inciting incident and lingering in their mind throughout the second Act of the story. All the tidbits of truth your character discovers along the way contribute to the answer they discover at the Aha! Moment of the story, or the epiphany.

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