Two Steps Ahead or Two Steps Behind? by Amy Maida Wadsworth Whether you want to write a bona fide mystery with all the genre conventions or are just looking to weave some nail-biting suspense or an air of mystery into your romance or sci-fi, the key to snagging your readers’ interest is in filling them with fear. How you imbue a reader with fear or deep concern requires several strategies, but we’re covering the two primary considerations below. Let’s start with an example: As Sherlock approached 221B Baker Street, he saw splinters of wood where the lock had been jimmied open. He pushed open the door, slowly and silently, to let the dim afternoon light spill through the doorway. Cleaning supplies were strewn across the entryway floor. Someone had forced their way in—a man, who had scuffed his black-soled shoe along the wall on his way up the stairs. He had been dragging someone who snagged her sweater on a protruding nail—the woolen fibers, scratches across the steps where she...
I want to get organized. I woke up early this morning without setting an alarm, and all I could think about was how to organize the girls' bedroom. I moved furniture around in my head, tried to picture different colors of paint on the walls, tried to figure out a way to keep as much of our furniture as possible without encouraging the cluttered feeling that permeates my entire house. I'm not sure it's possible. The house is small and I have no storage and everyone in my house is a packrat. It doesn't help that none of us like to clean. I have to get creative because I have to make due with what I have. Limited budget, limited strength, limited energy. I've got three dressers downstairs that are entirely different in style and color. The carpet needs to be replaced. I would love to gut the place and start over, but that's just not an option. I feel like my house is a reflection of how I feel personally. I feel cluttered. It's time to clean the cob...
This morning, I spoke at the Heart of the West Writing Conference, a conference for the Utah chapter of Romance Writers of America. I was able to talk about one of my favorite subjects--Point of View and the Choice Cycle. For those of you who haven't heard of the Choice Cycle before, it's a system that I've developed through years of study, writing, and editing to help writers keep a clear hold on point of view. Clear point of view strengthens the reader's connection with the main character, and therefore makes them more invested in the story you're telling. This emotional connection is key to sympathy, interest, and holding your reader's attention so that they won't put your book down. We read to feel something, after all, and readers will feel more if they are able to experience the point of view character's journey with them. I won't go into detail about the choice cycle here, because I'm currently editing an e-book about the subje...
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