By Rachel Hauck I’ve been using Susan May Warren’s Story Equation (SEQ) for building characters and working out a high-level plot for over a decade. In our early days of writing, as Susie and I talked about our craft, she brought these principles to the table and created The Story Equation. To be clear, there are many good author tools. …
Redemption Arcs
By Diane E. Samson Do you find certain themes popping up in your work? In writing for young adults, themes such as self-discovery, love and acceptance often emerge from the pages. But my favorite is a good redemption story. No matter the genre, if there’s a lost character who finds his way, I’m all in. (I’m looking at you Ebenezer …
How My Novel Originated in the Family Bible
by Glynn Young @gyoung9751 When I was young child, I asked my father what the package was that sat on a shelf in his closet. It was wrapped in brown grocery bag paper and tied with twine. “That,” he said, “is the family Bible, and one day it will be yours.” That day came during a visit home to New …
A Writer’s Perspective on the Benefits of Chaos, Bedlam and Scandal
By Roxanne Hicks When a younger writer, I hesitated to plunge my characters into perilous events. Like a doting mother, I dressed everyone in clean clothing and admonished them to stay out of the mud. Scandalous outings, unscrupulous friends, and disgusting habits were a taboo. A writing coach asked me, “Where is the excitement or conflict in your story if …
Writing in Layers
By Loretta Eidson Chefs prepare some of the best tasting layered foods. We have lasagna, nachos, casseroles, salads, pizza, etc. Just the mention of those delicious dishes makes our mouths water. Not to mention topping it off with extra cheese. All the ingredients, appropriately measured and blended, result in a lip-smacking delight. We won’t forget the satisfying taste that tickles …
How to Kill Your Characters Without Physicians Cringing
by Jenny Powell MD When I researched for my manuscript about the Apostle Paul, I wanted to know the impact of stones thrown at a body. How did stoning cause death? How far away from a body did someone have to stand to do the most damage? How does the body respond to such repeated insults? Of course, the scientist …
Building a Home, Building a Novel
By Diane E. Samson My husband and I have been in the process of building a home for the last 18 months. Our new place will be ready in December, and as all the various design pieces come together so it looks like an actual home, I can’t help but notice the similarities this experience has been to bringing a …
Writing Realistic Villains
By Darlene L. Turner What are the trademarks of a villain? Do they have dark, piercing eyes, a snarly grin, crooked-yellowed teeth, knobby fingers, an evil laugh? Or is there more to it than that? The antagonist can be the hardest character to write but also the most fun. How can we be successful at it? Here are some tips …
A Method for Character Finding
By Scott T. Barnes I’ve heard of a lot of different methods for creating characters. I’ve used extensive character sheets which ask questions both about the physical attributes of the characters, and also about their tics, their family, their psychological underpinnings, their flaws. I’ve read numerous how-to books, taken in-person classes and Zoom classes. I once went to a writer’s …
Why Does a Story Work?
By Cynthia Herron @C_Herronauthor Did you ever set out on a road trip or a vacation and somewhere along the way miss a turn and realize you were lost? Maybe that’s why I don’t drive in big cities (says the woman who recently moved to a suburb of a Midwest city that boasts an 800,000+ population). Turning around in the middle of …