Skip to main content

Heighten The Drama Increase The Danger!

Image
By
Howdy-Hey Folks,

Okay that a little bit of a cheesy opening, but every so often, I have to be cheesy. It's part of my charm.

More sunshiney clear sky lovely days! But I know it's going to be in the 70's. May I whine that it's not any cooler than that? Please? I'll be your best friend.

Okay, all kidding aside (obviously coffee and sleep deprivation kicking in--okay maybe sleep deprivation isn't really the excuse, but coffee kicking in)

Todd Stone said to put your people in danger to make your book more of a page turner. This doesn't mean that if you're writing in a genre that believes in happily-ever-afters (e.g. Romance) that you make it impossible for some form of happily-ever-after to happen. What he means is throw everything you can reasonably throw at your characters to make that ending even better.

This might mean put more tension between your characters (in Romance you can have the two that are supposed to end up together hate each other for a long time before they realize they actually are madly in love...ooo, I like those! I think they're fun).

Or if you're writing action go all James Bond-MacGyver on everyone. Write so that it's heart-thumping, pounding action. Don't let them sit still, if you're writing action your readers will be expecting ACTION.

Drama--ooo so many ways to increase drama. Whether it's a 17 year old running away from home or discovering his or her parents are actually aliens who want to take him/her away to their home planet for morbid experiments.

Or even something Stephenie Meyer-esque like in The Host or even a brooding vampire/shape shifter falling in love with someone he/she can't have.

Or the dragon that suddenly turns on his/her master and wreaks havoc on the village.

There are a bazillion ways of heightening the drama and increasing the danger.

What are your suggestions on heightening drama and increasing danger? What inspires your drama/danger in your stories?

Have A Thrilling-Thudding Thursday!
Labels:

Comments

Marsha Sigman said…
Hi Bethany! I think that when you want to increase the drama in your work, just ask yourself what does your character really want? Then don't give it to her...or at least not for a while. Sounds a little sadistic, doesn't it? I have to go back and rework mine a little, I think the love interest caved in too quickly.lol Have a great day!
Thursday, 05 November, 2009
Bethany said…
Marsha,

That's definitely a good way. LOL. I'm kinda doing that in "Conjure A Man". :-) Good suggestion, thanks! :-)

Hope to see you Saturday :-)
Thursday, 05 November, 2009
Regina Quentin said…
Wow. I loved Marsha's comment. That is basically how I try to write when I'm working on my romcom screenplay. That's funny.

I do however need to incorporate more "action" into my mystery...

Great post Bethany.
Friday, 06 November, 2009
Bethany said…
Regina,

Thanks :-) Happy Writing to you as well :-)
Friday, 06 November, 2009
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get Thee A Nom De Plume!

By
Good Evening One & All, Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet, "What's in a name?...A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Disney talked about names in Aladdin in the lyrics, "Better get a nom de plume ." (the song, "One Jump"). So, for a writer, what does a nom de plume (or, pen name) say about the author? It could be a different spelling of the author's name, it could be a name that has a significance. They could keep their first name, but change the last, or change both. A pen name is also the name a writer will write under for his or her books. The name that his or her readers will recognize them. The name on the autographs and the one where people will say, "Oh yes, that's so and so, they wrote..." Some authors write under their own names. Others, for a variety of reasons, choose a pen name. What about you? Are you considering a pen name? What have you looked at when thinking of your nom de plume ? For myself, I...
8 comments
Read more

Gregori Celebrates My Birthday

By
Happy Tuesday All, ****CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED**** In honor of my birthday (that was on Oct. 15th) I am doing TWO give aways! The FIRST one is TODAY!  Today's give away is a copy of Kerrelyn Sparks' Sexiest Vampire Alive . Kerrelyn, being the awesome person that she is, has agreed to give a signed copy of the novel to ONE lucky commenter on my blog. Here's how it's going to work and please read all instructions CAREFULLY. ONE entry PER person : If you choose to email in your entry: Email to this email ONLY .  Your email should state who your favorite vampire is. And no, it does NOT have to be one of Kerrelyn Sparks' characters, but that would be really cool if you DID mention one of hers. If you choose to enter by commenting on my blog: Leave your FIRST name, email address, and what vampire is your favorite. It can be ANY vampire--but like I said, it would be really cool if you mention a Kerrelyn Sparks' vampire. You don't know Kerrelyn Spa...
82 comments
Read more

Fangs and Mistletoe

By
Happy Wednesday All, Congratulations to Sarah K. who won the Tess St. John giveaway. Please confirm receipt of the email I sent you to claim your prize! ****KERRELYN SPARKS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED . Thank you to all who particpated. A special thank you to Kerrelyn Sparks for providing the prize.**** Merrily the December Days Blog Giveaway keeps going! ***THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. It was closed on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 10:30 p.m. Central Time per the giveaway details. I am no longer accepting entries to this giveaway*** If you haven't had the fun of reading a Kerrelyn Sparks paranormal romance, then you're in for a treat. Kerrelyn is offering to one lucky winner a signed copy of her fun and fangtastic novel, All I Want For Christmas Is A Vampire: Toni's friend is in the hospital going on about vampires. Toni will prove her right. But can she resist Ian's charm, in spite of his fangs? As always, the book is full of Kerrelyn's wit, ro...
113 comments
Read more