Summer’s Over.  I know because, well, the kids went back to school last week.

And we had our first conference football game (which we won!)

And the Minnesota Vikings lost yesterday.   *sigh*

But most importantly, the August blogging hiatus at MBT is over, and it’s time to start working on our suspense WIPS again!

We spent the first seven months of this year studying Suspense, the four components that go into powerful suspense structure, and what each component contains.  We talked about the elements of the ignition, the deadline, and crafting villains and heroes who can save the world.

Now it’s time to put it all together!

Writing a novel is a two part process – the creating of characters, the gathering of the elements and the plotting of the story.  Then comes the tough stuff – the putting it down on paper in a coherent way.  A book is made up of scenes – think of them like stepping stones to your character’s Black Moment (and beyond).  Every scene must be essential, and work to drive the story forward.  It also must create the right emotional impact for your character’s growth.

So, what goes in a scene?  The elements are different depending on what scene you are creating and we’ll dive into these elements as we build our story – because over the next 3 months I’ll be writing a suspense online for you to dissect and study.  (For those who have followed this blog, we’ll be finishing Limelight, the romantic suspense about Luke and Kenzie that we developed during Blog-A-Book in 2009.)

The first scene in your suspense is possibly the most important.  Your goals are to create sympathy for your POV character, to hint at the stakes of the story (what could go wrong), set up the storyworld and players, as well as their motivations, and hook the reader to turning the page to the next scene!

When you’re trying to figure out where to start your story, consider the following questions:
1. What situation, as the story begins, is most compelling, most sympathetic?  You are trying to get your reader to relate to your hero/heroine, and putting them in a situation that readers can relate to emotionally is paramount.
2. How can you weave in the danger of the suspense, or hint at the stakes of the story.  Think:  What can/will go wrong in this story and what will happen if they don’t save the day?  You don’t want to give us a chunk of narrative, but rather layer in the hint of threat so the reader knows there is something at stake.
3. What storyworld location can you use to create a sense of danger/suspense?  I used a coffee shop in my upcoming book (the Shadow of your Smile), but I conjured up a blizzard outside and then put a strange car with two scary men in the abandoned parking lot.
4. How can you end the scene with something worse, even the inciting incident that will propel your story quickly into the Noble Quest?

Finally, remember to start your story On the Run – meaning, the story already in action, as if you’ve simply thrown back the curtain to see the story in progress.

Tomorrow I’ll post the first scene in Limelight – with my explanations of how I applied each of these elements into my suspense scene.

Thanks for reading!
Susie May

******
Are you going to the ACFW Conference next week?  Would you like a little encouragement about what to bring, what to say…generally how to prepare?  Then attend our ACFW Prep Chat tonight at www.mybooktherapy.ning.com – log in and click on the chat bar at the bottom.  7-8pm CST!

More shameless promotion:
We have three tickets left for the Pitch and Promotion Seminar at on Wednesday, September 21st right before the ACFW Conference.  If you are coming to the ACFW conference hoping to pitch, then you don’t want to miss this seminar that will teach you not only how to pitch, but give you valuable practice as well as hints on how to promote your book to those agents/editors AFTER the conference!  Check out:  http://scrimmage.mybooktherapy.com for full details!