Anna DeStefano's Blog

 James Scott Bell Writer’s Page is a wonderful resource to explore, and Jenni and I are thrilled to have him at How We Write to discuss what he sees as the core of every successful novel. Ever wonder why one story sings and another falls flat? Check out this week’s inspiring guest blog!

Come back next weekto hear #weWrite regular PW Creighton’s take on Setting Moods!  

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I believe a successful novel is the record of a character dealing with death. There are three kinds of death: physical, professional, psychological. One of these needs to be in play, at least as far as the lead character is concerned. Physical death is the hallmark of thrillers, and obviously means high stakes.

But there’s also psychological death. In a romance, for example, if the two soul mates don’t end up together, it will be a kind of death—their lives won’t be complete, ever (we sometimes say someone “died on the inside”). Professional death: An FBI agent on a case might have her entire career on the line, as Clarice Starling does in The Silence of the Lambs.

Death should be hovering even in comedic writing. Think about it: the characters in a comedy think they’re in a tragedy (psychological death) over something trivial. Oscar’s life as a happy slob is threatened by neat-freak Felix. Every Seinfeld episode is about some minor pursuit blown out of all proportion (e.g., the soup in “The Soup Nazi” episode).

This is fundamental to understanding the 3 Act structure and what I call the Doorways of No Return.  (more…)

Kara Lennox has published over sixty novels for Harlequin Books and Bantam Books, plus ten screenplays (three of which have been optioned). She’s a lot of fun and super talented and here to talk about raising the stakes at the darkest moment in your story. I’ve know here and her husband for years, and I’m thrilled to have Kara join us for this week’s HoWW guest blog.

Come back to HoWWnext Wednesday for James Scott Bell’s “1st Doorway of No Return”! 

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Is Your Black Moment Black Enough?

There must be a point in your book when all seems lost. The hero is about to fail in his quest; the heroine is about to be thrown off a building; the villain has gotten hold of the secret weapon. Your hero and heroine are breaking up and there appears to be no way to work out their differences.

One common flaw in books that fail (my own stack of rejected manuscripts included) is that the stakes aren’t high enough. So from the beginning of your book, ask yourself what is at stake. If your hero/heroine fails to reach his goal, what will happen, and is it really, really bad? Is someone going to die?

There are other high stakes besides loss of life. Loss of love, of course, is always a risk in a romance novel. But to make it work, you have to convince your reader that this is a once-in-a-lifetime love, that it’s special, epic love, and if the characters can’t make it work their futures will be meaningless. Other high stakes include loss of identity (your character can no longer be the person he/she wants to be), loss of family, loss of home (but only if it’s a special home, like a ranch that’s been in the family for generations) loss of sanity. This is just a partial list.

If your stakes are high, the black moment (roughly three-quarters of the way through the book) is the time to play that up. (more…)