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Set me Free!

By on May 13, 2010 in How do I create the Inner Journey?, How do I write the Character Change Journey?, How to create a Spiritual Thread, What is the Black Moment and how do I create it?

The Truth Journey (or Inner Journey, or Spiritual Journey) for your character Part 3   Okay, I’m just going to say it, and I’m using my Mom tone.  The Black Moment is the POINT of your story.  Because without the Black Moment, there is no epiphany and no character change, and if you are writing a romance, it is Absolutely Required.    If you don’t have a black moment in your story, then you don’t have a story.  Sorry if that hurts…BUT, we’re going to fix it, right?    Last week, I talked about building the black moment.  Today, let’s revisit that a moment, and talk about how to weave in the lie for effective character change! Step Five:  The Black Moment   In this step, the lie rears its […]

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I have a lie, really?

By on May 12, 2010 in How do I write the Character Change Journey?, How to create a Spiritual Thread, Protagonists: The Basics, The Hero's Journey Simplified, What is the Black Moment and how do I create it?

The Truth Journey (or Inner Journey, or Spiritual Journey) for your character Part 2 Yesterday we started our charcter’s spirutal journey by asking:  What lie do they believe?  (by the way, I often use this when chatting with children, or eve myself when confronted with behaviors that might not be healthy…it’s a good exercise!)  Anyway…Armed with the lie, the first thing you want to do on the journey, probably in that first scene is PROVE IT.  Step Two: Confirmation of the Lie – Proof             What can you do to convince the hero that his lie is true?  You want to do something at the beginning of the book that will cement him into this lie – of course, it needs to be something that only pushes him deeper in […]

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What Lie do you believe?

By on May 11, 2010 in How to create a Spiritual Thread, Protagonists: The Basics, The Hero's Journey Simplified, What is the Black Moment and how do I create it?

The Truth Journey (or Inner Journey, or Spiritual Journey) for your character Part 1   I recently read the Kite Runner.  GREAT story.  Loved the writing.  And, although it was a secular book, it still contained themes of redemption, forgiveness, grace….everything that makes a book resonant…however, I couldn’t help but think, what if he’d added the spiritual perspective — the understanding that God had given him a second chance.    As a reader, I don’t want the spiritual plot to be so thick that it strangles me – and as a writer, I don’t want to strangle my reader.  I want the story to intrigue, to draw my reader deeper, to allow them to look at the issues and wrestle with them without feeling as though they are told what […]

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So, how do you make it BLACK? (Setting up the Black Moment)

By on May 6, 2010 in Protagonists: The Basics, Story Crafting, The Hero's Journey Simplified, What is the Black Moment and how do I create it?

Yesterday we talked about the elements of the Black Moment – gathering up the pieces.  Today, let’s put them together!     First, you need to start with…The Hint… At the beginning of every great novel, or movie, there is a hint at what a character’s greatest fears might be.   It can be something they experience and never want to repeat.  It can be something a friend has gone through. It can be something they witness…but we need to see if (even if we don’t recognize it as the hint…although now you will!)  Because it will give us that dark foreboding we need to make the fear seem…well, dark.   One of my favorite hints is in a movie called The Hostage…the hero is negotiating the release of a […]

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