Susan May Warren - Advanced Brilliant Writing

Copyright 2015 by Susan May Warren. Manufactured in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any for or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by My Book Therapy, a division of Susan May Warren Fiction, LLC, 20 Wild Plum Dr., Grand Marais, MN 55604. (218)387-2853. First Edition

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Excerpt taken from Flee the Night. Copyright (c) 2005 by Susan May Warren. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpt taken from Escape to Morning. Copyright (c) 2005 by Susan May Warren. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpt taken from Taming Rafe. Copyright (c) 2007 by Susan May Warren. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpt taken from Tying the Knot. Copyright (c) 2003 by Susan May Warren. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpt taken from Nothing But Trouble. Copyright (c) 2009 by Susan May Warren. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Susan May Warren is the Christy, RITA and Carol award-winning author of over forty-five novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill and Summerside Press. A prolific novelist with over million books sold, Susan has written contemporary and historical romances, romantic-suspense, thrillers, rom-com and Christmas novellas. She loves to help people launch their writing careers and is the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com and www.LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com , a writing website that helps authors get published and stay published.

Shes also the author of the popular writing method, The Story Equation. Find excerpts and reviews of her novels at www.susanmaywarren.com

Dedication:

To everyone who ever attended one of my classes, encouraged me and wanted more from their writing, this is for you.

Acknowledgements

To the My Book Therapy Voices for their encouragement and questions that make me into a better writer and teacher.

To Beth Vogt, for knowing the Chicago Manual of Style and applying your amazing skills to this worktext. I shudder to think what it would have looked like without you!

To Rachel. My Therapist.

You are brilliant.

Finally, to Andrew and my family. You make me feel like a rock star.

I love novels. A great book reaches out and pulls me inside, subtly, makes me feel what the characters feel, and helps me experience stories and events beyond myself. I can travel through time and space in books and experience what it is like to jump from a plane, or ride a bull, or fall in love, again and again. There is a magic in a well-written novel. Through it, I can revive lost loves, delight in childhood, become a Scottish warlord... and hopefully, in the journey, become a better person. I want to walk away pondering some truth.

But I dont want to be preached at, dont want the author to choke their story with their agenda. Dont want to be told what to think or feel. I want to come to my own conclusions and simply experience the journey with the character in a way that makes me examine my own journey through life.

How, as authors, do we help a reader connect with a character so smoothly that they become a part of the story? How do we make our readers laugh, cry and believe the story?

Its more than just words. And more than just structure. Its about creating a believable journey of change for your character, then folding that change into the story. Its about luring our readers into the story by revealing our characters layer by layer so that the reader longs to know them better. Finally, its about wooing our readers with our sentences and words so that they stir their hearts.

I read a lot of good books out therebooks that are structurally correct, that have a sound heros journey and a sweet romance. But the truth is, as an author, I want more. I want to craft a story that captures a readers heart and changes their world in some way. In short, I dont want good... I want breathtaking.

My last book, How to Write a Brilliant Novel , covered all the foundational elements of putting together a novel. I wanted to help people realize their dreams. But there is so much more that goes into a novel. If you want to make your book amazing, you have to think deeper with your characters and wider with your plot. You need to go beyond the basics or the structurally correct and reach for more.

Thats why, the moment I finished How to Write a Brilliant Novel , and looked at the list of topics I didnt cover, I knew I needed to write Advanced Brilliant Writing . This book is designed to take your now-completed rough draft (or the outline for your rough draft) and make you take a deeper look at your characterizationfrom journey to implementation. Youll learn how to plot a profound character change journey, how to use backstory correctly, and how to reveal your character slowly and for the most impact. Finally, well get specific and Ill teach you how to apply these changes to create powerful scenes. The questions and/or charts and exercises at the end of the chapters will equip you to build everything you are learning into your story.

The second section of the book will help you examine your plot. Remember those times when you throw a book against the wall? Thats because a story doesnt make sense, or the characters are too stupid to live. Ill give you some techniques that will keep your books from ever ending up face down in a corner. Ill teach you how to drive your character through the story with the right balance of stakes and motivation, a way to widen your plot and make your hero more heroic with each plot step. Youll learn some tricks on making your plot more unique and compellingand the difference between subplots and layers and how to use each effectively. Finally, youll learn how to create the perfect villain, and how doing so widens your plot even more.

As authors, lets not settle for good. Lets take our story deeper and wider... and breathtaking.

Susan May Warren

I believe a great story is driven by great characters. Pride and Prejudice wouldnt be a great story without Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Bravehear t would just be another war for freedom without William Wallace. Jack Bauer is , and no one but Dr. Richard Kimble could have solved his wifes murder.

We love a character who takes a hold of us and becomes so real in our minds we can see them walking down the street. A character with whom we can cry, fall in love and charge into battle. We want to change with a character and learn their lessons.

For a while, we want to be them. Or at least be their friend.

But how do you draw characters that seem to breathe and bleed? And how do you connect them with your reader?

In my first writing book, How to Write a Brilliant Novel , I teach how to build a character from the inside out. To do so, you first ask the right questions based on the five areas of self-esteem. Then you build a plot around those answers. That method is the foundation for great characterization. But to really draw your reader into the life of your character, we have to go deeper, have to engage our characters in an emotional journey of change. We have to layer our characters, so that when we reveal them we do it with the right balance and timing for the most impact. We have to write scenes that evoke emotions, with just the right amount of backstory. And we need to connect our characters to our readers on a soul-deep level.