The Great Debate! Story vs Structure

So, here we are, Susie May and me, after the Christy Awards sitting in the Marriott Hotel with greats Ted Dekker and Steven James, fellow Christy Award nominees.

(Congratulations to Susie for her second Christy win! And to Ted!)

Among our company that night was Ted’s daughter, who is also a new, contracted author with Tyndale.

As talk goes among writers, we edged our way to talking craft. Steven James just came out with a book Story Trumps Structure.

I get what he’s saying. Books are about stories, people doing amazing things.

No one ever came up to me and said, “Rachel, I just thought of a great structure!”

All writers are dreamers of story.

But James contends too many writers get wrapped around the axel on structure and forget about story.

As you know, here at MBT, we are all about BOTH.

Yet Another Tip On How to Write A Great Novel

It’s throwback Thursday. I’m out of town and thought I’d blog a blast from the past.

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Do you ever weary of all the do’s and don’ts of writing a novel? I do. Sometimes I get so bogged down with the “rules” and guidelines I end up writing something that doesn’t work.

But in the end, it all forms together to create the novel I do end up sending to my editor. Nothing written for a novel is never wasted.

Every word becomes a layer and texture of the ultimate story.

On my latest novel, I learned a valuable lesson. Reading. Shocker, right? Y’all are rolling your eyes, moaning, “Gee whiz, Rachel, and you have fifteen novels published!? Where’s the justice?”

Rachel Hauck, Princess Ever After

Putting Up Road Blocks — Story Road Blocks That Is!

Monday Susie blogged on 7 Twists and Turns to add to your novel!

I thought I’d piggy back on her post and add some detail to one of her fantastic tips.

Let’s look at her 7th twist: Chose the Worst Case Scenario.

Susie writes: After every scene, Ask: What is the worst thing that could happen to my character right now? Then, follow up with – can I make that happen (or something similar to it?) When you sit down to consider all your options – and then choose one that is reasonable yet unexpected, you add in the element of unpredictability in your novel. And readers love it when they say, “Oh, I did NOT see that coming!”

Maybe I’m alone in this but whenever I think of raising the stakes or putting up obstacles (road blocks) or choosing the worst case scenario, I think of things like buildings blowing up, terrorist attacks, life threatening diseases, death, mayhem, destruction! (All State anyone?)

Well, I know I’m not alone. I can tell by some of the stories I read or contest entries. Random, bizarre, something-not-even-related-to-the-story happens.

Here’s the deal, if you’ve worked on your character journey/story arc and you know the probable epiphany of your hero, then all of the road blocks must fit within that story line.

Just shutting the door in someone’s face can be a sufficient and effective story block. Or as Susie calls it “worst case scenario.”

I’m working on rewrites for How To Catch A Prince.

Rachel Hauck

And So She Climbed A Rock

Here at MBT we talk about the protagonist’s happiest and saddest moments.

These to elements are used to shape the deeper layers of emotion between the characters. Expressly the hero and the heroine.

Often use of symbolism or metaphor can deepen the emotional layer of sharing a raw, tender moment between the stars of your story.

But wow, it’s really easy to miss these moments. To kind of skip over them and wrap it all up in prose summation.

Okay, what do I mean?

Let’s create a scenario.

Your hero is wealthy, grew up in a good family. His whole life he had nice things, a nice car, great vacations. He’s a star athlete and student.

Your heroine grew up poor, without, never had anything nice. The old beater car she purchased for $200 had to be pushed all over town by her friends because the starter didn’t work right. She never went anywhere for vacation but a night at the country fair. She’s pretty, a good student but never ever did anything out of the ordinary.

Rachel Hauck

What’s The Advantage of A Writers Retreat

I’m in sunny yet sometimes rainy Destin, Florida at the 5th annual Deep Thinkers Retreat.

Seventeen writers (all women at this event) gathered to learn the craft of writing a novel.

There’s laughter, fun, frustration, confused looks, pondering, break throughs and friendships being forged.

A writers retreat like Story Crafters and Deep Thinkers is the pressure cooker of learning craft.

You can’t escape. It’s all around you!

Everyone is talking, breathing, sleeping STORY!

So how do you know if a writers retreat is right for you?

It is a commitment of time and money.

Are you really ready to invest in your writing journey at the retreat level?

Maybe you’re asking what’s the difference between a retreat and a conference.