How to write a page turner Craft a story your readers can't put down
Book - 2019
Tension is the heart of conflict, the backbone of uncertainty, the hallmark of danger. It keeps readers guessing and characters on their toes. When you've got tension in place, stories leave readers breathless and wanting more. When it's missing, scenes feel inconsequential, plots drag, and characters meander. Learning the craft of writing can sometimes feel like a paint by numbers approach--connect compelling character A to plot event B. To avoid writing that's formulaic, predictable, and slow, How to Write a Page Turner will help you sew the threads of tension tight for an unforgettable story. You'll learn how to: --Recognize the essential tension elements of danger, conflict, uncertainty, and withholding, and add them... to your fiction; --Create levels of tension in your characters through flaws, dialogue, power struggles, and more; --Build tension at energetic markers throughout the plot; --Use intimate imagery, strong sentences, and well-chosen words to build tension in exposition. While this book walks you through the key areas that need tension building, from character to plot, it also delves deeper, analyzing exceptional examples from contemporary fiction's most gripping page-turners. So as you dive into the inner conflicts of a character's deepest psyche, to the mechanics of how you reveal information to the reader, you'll also discover how to craft a story your readers can't put down!
- Subjects
- Published
-
Cincinnati, Ohio :
Witer's Digest Books
[2019]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- First edition
- Item Description
- Includes index.
- Physical Description
- 233 pages ; 22 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9781440354342
- Dedication/Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Introduction
- Part 1. Essential Tension Elements
- 1. Danger
- 2. Conflict
- 3. Uncertainty
- 4. Withholding
- Part 2. Tension with Characters
- 5. Tension in Character Goats
- 6. The War within Your Character
- 7. Use Character Flaws against Them
- 8. Torment Your Protagonist
- 9. Create Radical Reversals
- 10. Tense Talk
- 11. Power Struggles between Protagonist and Antagonist
- Part 3. Plot Tension
- 12. Tighten the Tension of Your Inciting Incident
- 13. Build Tension at the Energetic Markers
- 14. Eliminate the Unnecessary
- 15. Shore up Scene Tension
- 16. Maximize Setting Tension
- Part 4. Tension in Exposition
- 17. Create Sentences That Sing
- 18. The Power of images
- Afterword