Susan may warren has distilled down years of teaching to an understandable, transferable technique — the SEQ — that helps them develop stories that will captivate their readers. Learn: the amazing trick to creating unforgettable, compelling characters that epic movies use! how to create riveting tension to keep the story driving from chapter to chapter The easy solution to plotting the middle of your novel The one element every story needs to keep a reader up all night How to craft an ending that makes your reader say to their friends, you have to read this book!” Using the powerful technique that has created over fifty RITA, best-selling novels, Christy and Carol award-winning, “Oh, Susan May Warren will show novelists how to utilize The Story Equation to create the best story they’ve ever written.
She does this in a practical way through her insightful book, The Story Equation. Rubart- bestselling author of The Long Journey to Jake Palmer. Discover the story equation! one question can unlock your entire story! are you struggling to build a riveting plot? Layered characters? How about fortify that saggy middle? Create that powerful ending? You can build an entire book by asking one powerful question, and then plugging it into an “equation” that makes your plot and characters come to life.
A great benefit to all writers of fiction. Ted dekker, new york times best-selling author "There have been only two must-have craft books on my shelf for years. I felt like i’d been taken by the hand and mentored by a masterful storyteller!” Mary DeMuth, author of six novels including, The Muir House Zondervan.
The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings
What needs to happen in Act 3. How to use the Ah and Uh-Oh emotional wallops. A simple technique for crafting twist endings. The most important secret of all—resonance. The stew, brew, Accrue, Do brainstorming method. The best way to tie up loose ends. The most common ending mistakes, and how to avoid them. And more.
.
The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction
The "seven elements of a viable story" in the Idea form an acronym for the word PROBLEM, since every story is really about one, at its core. Each chapter focuses on one of these seven deceptively simple-looking aspects of a strong story, which are anything but easy to master. But writers are usually in the dark about this, not realizing that the project they spent months or years on had fundamental flaws on a concept level, in the eyes of the people they most hoped to impress with it.
But even the best fiction writing books and screenwriting experts tend to move quickly past the crucial step of choosing a viable idea, to get to the specific plotting and composition of it, because there is so much to master in those later parts of the process -- which feel a lot more like "writing" than developing and mulling over potential story concepts.
Professionals, tend to understand the primacy of "the idea, though, " and learn that there are certain key elements in story or series premises that really work, and which are worth investing time and energy in. Most screenwriting books tend to focus on story structure, scene writing, navigating the business, and other parts of the craft that come AFTER the initial choice of the central concept for a story.
Multiple emmy- and golden globe-winning writer/producer Erik Bork HBO's Band of Brothers takes a different approach. His experience in the industry and as a screenwriting professor and coach have led him to recognize that it's the selection of the initial idea that is the most important part of the process -- with the most impact on the project's chance of success.
Character Reactions from Head to Toe Indie Author Resources
A list of 1, 000 character reactions as an author, this handy little booklet is for you! sometimes as new or even experienced authors, we can't think of just the right action for our character's body in a particular scene, are your characters always sighing and nodding? Did you just sigh and nod? If so, and we need something to get the creative juices flowing.
This is a quick and easy reference tool just for that purpose.
Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure Helping Writers Become Authors
Bring your characters to unforgettable and realistic life—and take your stories from good to great! Powerful character arcs create powerful storieshave you written a story with an exciting concept and interesting characters—but it just isn’t grabbing the attention of readers or agents? It’s time to look deeper into the story beats that create realistic and compelling character arcs.
Internationally published, award-winning novelist K. M. Weiland shares her acclaimed method for achieving memorable and moving character arcs in every book you write. By applying the foundation of the three-act story Structure and then delving even deeper into the psychology of realistic and dynamic human change, Weiland offers a beat-by-beat checklist of character arc guidelines that flexes to fit any type of story.
This comprehensive book will teach you:How to determine which arc—positive, negative, or flat—is right for your character. Why you should NEVER pit plot against character.
Understanding Show, Don't Tell: And Really Getting It
She'll help you understand what show, teach you how to spot told prose in your writing, don't tell means, and reveal why common advice on how to fix it doesn't always work. With in-depth analysis, understanding Show, Don't Tell And Really Getting It looks at what affects told prose and when telling is the right thing to do.
These examples will alsodemonstrate why showing the wrong details can sound just as dull as telling. This book will help you:understand when to tell and when to showspot common red flag words often found in told proselearn why one single rule doesn't apply to all booksDetermine how much telling is acceptable in your writingFix stale or flat prose holding your writing backUnderstanding Show, don't tell works, Don't Tell And Really Getting It is more than just advice on what to do and what not to do--it's a downand dirty examination and analysis of how show, so you can adapt the "rules" to whatever style or genre you're writing.
It also explores aspects of writing that aren't technicallytelling, description, such as infodumps, but are connected to told prose and can make prose feel told, and backstory. Hereasy-to-understand examples will show you clear before and after textand demonstrate how telling words change the prose. You'll learn how tofind the right balance between description, narrative, andinternalization for the strongest impact.
.
Show, Don't Tell: How to write vivid descriptions, handle backstory, and describe your characters' emotions Writers' Guide Series Volume 3
Keep from 'telling' what you have already 'shown'. Put powerful emotions into your writing. In this book, sandra gerth draws on her experience as an editor and a best-selling author to show you how to show and tell you when to tell. Recognize 'telling' in dialogue. Each chapter includes concrete examples and exercises that will hone your writing skills.
Avoid the three danger areas of 'telling'. Show, don’t tell' is probably the single most-important piece of advice given to writers. Whether you’re a novice writer working on your first story or an established author who has already learned the basics of 'showing' and 'telling', this book will help you to: - Grasp the difference between 'showing' and 'telling'.
Avoid 'overshowing' and swamping your readers with too many details. Understand why 'showing' is such a powerful tool. Describe your characters and your setting in interesting ways.
How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method Advanced Fiction Writing Volume 1
You’ll discover: how to define your “target audience” the right way, so you know exactly how your ideal readers think and feel. But when she went to college, her parents persuaded her to study something practical. She suddenly realized that being practical had made her horribly unhappy. As the children grew, Goldilocks took great joy in introducing them to the stories she had loved as a child.
It’s just plain fun. It shows you how it’s done, rather than tells you. Especially your villain. Excerpt goldilocks had always wanted to write a novel. Zany, over the top, and just plain fun how to write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method is a “business parable”—a how-to guide written in story form.
But she was a very obedient girl, so she did what her parents told her.
How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript
Don't sabotage your chances of selling your work to readers or publishers because the dialogue is unexceptional. 1 bestselling writing coach James Scott Bell has put together and expanded upon the dialogue lectures from his popular writing seminars. Dazzle them with what the characters say. There is one sure-fire way of improving your novel fast.
In how to write dazzling Dialogue you'll learn:What fictional dialogue is. And if that reader is an agent or editor, sharp dialogue will give them instant assurance that you know what you're doing as a writer. Writing a bestseller or hot screenplay is no easy task, but dazzling dialogue is an absolute essential if you want to get there.
The best part is, the skills of the dialogue craft are easy to understand and put into practice.
The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface
. Or they can experience it. Engage your readers with emotion while writers might disagree over showing versus telling or plotting versus pantsing, none would argue this: If you want to write strong fiction, you must make your readers feel. Writer s Digest Books. Veteran literary agent and expert fiction instructor Donald Maass shows you how to use story to provoke a visceral and emotional experience in readers.
That's where the Emotional Craft of Fiction comes in.
The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma
Inside, and dysfunctional behaviors that can arise from different painful events•an extensive analysis of character arc and how the wound and any resulting unmet needs fit into it•Techniques on how to show the past experience to readers in a way that is both engaging and revelatory while avoiding the pitfalls of info dumps and telling•A showcase of popular characters and how their traumatic experiences reshaped them, personality shifts, you’ll find:•A database of traumatic situations common to the human experience•An in-depth study on a wound’s impact, lies, including the fears, leading to very specific story goals•A Backstory Wound Profile tool that will enable you to document your characters’ negative past experiences and the aftereffects Root your characters in reality by giving them an authentic wound that causes difficulties and prompts them to strive for inner growth to overcome it.
With its easy-to-read format and over 100 entries packed with information, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus is a crash course in psychology for creating characters that feel incredibly real to readers. Readers connect to characters with depth, ones who have experienced life’s ups and downs. Writer s Digest Books.
. Of all the formative experiences in a character’s past, none are more destructive than emotional wounds. To deliver key players that are both realistic and compelling, writers must know them intimately—not only who they are in the present story, but also what made them that way.