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The Big Event (the key to writing a suspense pt 1)

By on April 4, 2011 in Editing Basics, Plotting, Story Crafting, Suspense

I only had one job:  get literary agent Sandra Bishop to the airport.   We had spent the weekend teaching together at a private writing seminar in the middle of Minnesota, and woke up early Sunday morning with a three plus hour drive in front of us for her flight out of Duluth.  I had mapquested the trip, so I knew that the journey would take us three hours, but I added an hour cushion just to be safe and declared we’d leave at 10am.  We pulled out around 10:30, but since I’d allotted the time, I figured..we’re all good here.        The little town we taught in had a convenience store for a coffee shop, so we hustle by for a pitiful version of coffee and then hustled […]

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Passion versus Publishing…which to choose?

By on March 28, 2011 in Story Crafting, Writer's life

     I receive a lot of questions from aspiring writers and this one caught my eye.   Q: Have you ever had a story that you wanted to write, a spiritual message you wanted to share, but it won’t let you just yet? A: Yes, I have a couple stories sitting in my heart that I haven’t had the opportunity or perhaps the divine timing to write yet.    I’m a firm believer that God will work out the story in the right time, so I continue to collect ideas, impressions, do research and let those ideas soak, waiting for the right timing.  But sometimes I’m not ready – emotionally, or even professionally to write it.  Maybe I don’t have the skill level yet.  And I certainly don’t want to […]

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Does your protagonist have a Super Power? You bet!

By on March 24, 2011 in Editing Basics

During the My Book Therapy Deep Thinkers Retreat I threw Beth Vogt a curve. “What’s your heroine’s super power?” She looked at me like I was crazy. But I had a plan. A purpose. In Beth’s story, her heroine left a high powered job to work with a poor community. As the character realizes her limitations on a local mission field, I suggested she jump to her super power. “And what would that be?” Beth asked, brow arched, lips twisted with dubiosity. “She can raise money,” I said. “She knows how to get money from people. She’s gifted. She has the contacts, the connections, the right talent to pitch ideas.” Ah, so lights began to dawn. Now, I’m not sure Beth is going to use this super power, but it […]

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How to cause a little trouble: the how-to’s of peripheral plotting

By on March 15, 2011 in Editing Basics

How do you find those Peripheral Plotting elements? Yesterday we talked about Peripheral Plotting – a great little trick to widening your suspense plot.  How, however, do you find those elements?   Look around you – each one of us has people and things we care about in a widening circle. This is our periphery.  Let’s say my goal is to get to the airport so I can get to Seattle to see my mother for Christmas. In a linear plot, all that might stand between me and my goal might be transportation, or perhaps money. Maybe getting time off from my job. But let’s do some peripheral plotting.  Let’s say that I get a call from the principle of the school. My son has had a fight on the playground […]

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