define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true); define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true); Learn how to write your story - MyBookTherapy

We’re Having A Party

By on August 16, 2008 in Loosen Up!

My Book Therapy is all about Self- Therapy – meaning, Friends, Faith, Fun and Food!  So – let’s get together!  You know that empty spot on your ACFW Conference schedule (if you’re going!) on Friday night between 6-8 p.m.?  Where other people might be taking off to hang with their publisher or critique group or just a gang of writers they met at conference, well…  Come hang out with the VOICES in the first ever My Book Therapy Voices PIZZA PARTY!  Meet your fellow voices face to face. Give your input about how to improve My Book Therapy and Voices Talk about writing And hear what’s in store for MBT in the next year!  There might even be a fun bag of goodies to take home!   When:  Friday, September 19th, […]

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Tricks or Treats

By on August 15, 2008 in Suspense, Uncategorized

So you’ve figured out your BIG EVENT, and made it believeable and compelling and immediate and threatening. But to really create a great suspense, you new a few TRICKS!  Here’s the first one:   Grab ‘em with a HOOK from the first line.  The suspense Hook is essential for a great story.  Your hook should, set the tone, start with your hero/heroine in action, hint at the stakes and raise a story question.    However, there is one key that every suspense hook needs to have:   Intrigue.  Why? How?  What?  It needs to raise one of these questions right at the beginning.   Here are some of my hooks:  The past had picked the worst time to find her.  (What?) from Flee the Night  Out of all FSB Agent Yanna Andrevka’s bright ideas, masquerading […]

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The Big Event

By on August 14, 2008 in Suspense

Okay, so you’ve introduced your hero and heroine, and the stakes of the story, even hinted at their fears at the outset of the book…now, how do you weave in the SUSPENSE.  First, let’s take a look at the defition of a suspense:   An everyday hero or heroine confronts a believable, compelling, immediate and terrifying threat, and using their unique abilities, learning more, confronting their own lies and eventually finding a new strength, they overcome and win the day. The key to that definition is the word: EVENT  E – Event – The EVENT in a suspense is the bad thing that will happen if the hero/heroine don’t stop it.  It’s what is at STAKE in the story that propels our h/hn to face their darkest fears, summon their courage […]

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Nikki’s Haunted House

By on August 13, 2008 in Suspense

  Hey all!  I’m back from Phili (waving to everyone who was at the Greater Phili Christian Writer’s Conference!) and ready to talk…SUSPENSE!  I taught this class for the first time last week – and, as I was thinking about how to talk about suspense had, of course, to tell the story of Nikki Anderson’s haunted house.  (just skip ahead if you’ve already heard this).   Twelve years old.  Halloween.  Me and the neighbor boy.  We stood outside my friend Nikki’s house from which oozed eerie cackling laughter and fake smoke and trembled.  We’d heard her father was transforming the house for our yearly trick and treat around the neighborhood, but for the first time, I feared entering the one-story 1970’s rambler.  My little heart thundered in my chest…what if something, you […]

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