Thursday, May 31, 2012
Bad Blood Tomorrow
Drop by tomorrow to read all about Cherie Denis and her new vampire romance Bad Blood.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Memories into Stories: M. S. Spencer Blogs at RBRU
What’s the Kaleidoscope
Effect? Come visit me at Romance Books R Us today, May 23, to find out. Hint:
it’s not a toy, it’s a tool. Here’s the link to the site:
Friday, May 18, 2012
Please Welcome Chris Redding
Chris Redding lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Journalism. When she isn’t writing or giving workshops, she works part time for her local hospital. She belongs to Liberty States Fiction Writers and International Thriller Writers. Her latest thriller, Blonde Demolition, is available now.
Contacts:
Three-Act
Structure
This is a brief summary
of my workshop “Lights! Camera! Bestseller!” which I’ll be presenting for www.savvyauthors.com on June 15 and for www.writersonlineclasses.com on October 1, 2012.
This structure was
inspired by Aristotle. Act One is the beginning. Act Two is the middle. Act
Three is the end. But there is a little more to it than that.
The second act is
usually twice as long as the other two acts.
I’m a pantser; in other
words, I write by the seat of my pants, but even so, my books naturally fall
into this structure. Some authors think structure is a creativity killer. If I
plot, I’m not interested in writing the story, but that’s me. Many people plot
and this can be one of those devices used. It’s really an outline. Consider it
the structure of a sculpture. Or the dowels that hold up several layers of a
wedding cake.
Knowing the story’s
structure helps you to make the story clear to the reader. You can now create a
story with emotional depth because it has a foundation to it.
Begin with the Inciting
Incident. You must have all the events in Act One leading to this point. This
point is inevitable and there can be no changing the hero’s mind. There is no turning back at the end of Act
One. For example, when Dorothy landed in Oz, there was no turning back.
The Shaping Force comes
in the middle of Act Two. Remember Act Two is longer. So if your novel is 300
pages, Act Two is about 150 pages long.
At the midpoint of Act
Two, your character should have undergone some change. He should now be on the
offensive rather than the defensive. The last scene in Act Two should send the
character in a new direction. He should be prepared to resolve the conflict.
Your character is at the second turning point and is prepared to defeat the
villain and reach his goal that began at the Inciting Incident.
Act Two is the meat of
the book, just as in the movies, especially with action flicks.
Act Three can be short.
All must be wrapped up.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Win a Free Copy for Mom
Mother’s Day Blowout! Win a free copy of my latest
romantic suspense Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders at Tabitha Blake’s
wonderful contest. Check it out and enter here:
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Pet Peeves & A Prize
Please stop by
Shannon Leigh’s blog today, for a free discussion of my pet peeves and the
bucket list I’d have if I were in charge of the world.
The first commenter to name one of my idols wins a pdf copy
(your choice) of either Losers Keepers, a tale of love, lust and treachery set
on the island of Chincoteague, or Triptych, a tale of lost artworks, jealousy,
sex, larceny and genius set high above the mighty Potomac River.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Featured at New Romance Site
Come visit the new romance review website Love Writers
Romance. I’m the featured author today. Read about my new romantic
suspense/murder mystery Artful Dodging at:
Monday, May 7, 2012
Correct Link to Nice N Naughty
http://nicennaughtyauthors.blogspot.com/2012/05/guest-author-ms-spencer.html
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