Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for April is Word Choice and Micro Craft, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode Steven James and I discuss:

• The importance of what is, not what appears to be.
• Giving readers what they don’t know they want.
• How plot isn’t about events, but about the collision of desires.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Steven James

Steven James is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of eighteen novels that have won or been shortlisted for more than a dozen national and international awards. His thrillers have been praised by Suspense Magazine, Booklist, and the New York Journal of Books and received starred reviews from both Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, who called his work “thought-provoking” and “riveting.” He has also written two award-winning books on the craft of writing, Story Trumps Structure and Troubleshooting Your Novel. When he’s not writing, he teaches storytelling at events around the globe and hosts the weekly podcast, The Story Blender.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Art of the Tale

Whether your audience is a boardroom of executives, a classroom of students, or an auditorium full of eager listeners, the right story, well told, can transform and impact your presentation like nothing else. The Art of the Tale shows you how.

Everyone, regardless of their background and training, can improve their storytelling abilities. But what is a story? How can you tell it in a way that delights and informs your listeners? Take a journey into the keys to great storytelling with two of the country’s top experts on story presentation and speech writing.

In The Art of the Tale, seasoned storytellers Steven James and Tom Morrisey team up and tap into their decades of experience to show you how to prepare stellar presentations, tell stories in your own unique way, adapt your material to different groups of listeners, and gain confidence in your ability as a speaker. In this book, you’ll learn why:

• practice doesn’t make perfect.
• you should never tell the same story twice.
• it’s best to avoid memorizing your stories.

You’ll also find helpful hints on:

• gaining confidence in your storytelling ability.
• connecting with your audience.
• matching your expectations with those of your listeners.
• shaping your memories into inspiring messages.
• understanding what makes a story work.
• drawing truth out of the stories you wish to tell.
• crafting and remembering stories.

Learn how to tell stories more effectively, lead and teach more creatively, and prepare your message in less time by using this unique resource provided by two of the nation’s premier communicators.

Broker of Lies

When Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory, finds a clue to solving the tragic arson that took his wife from him, he risks everything to find the truth―and chances losing himself in the process.

With a terror attack looming on the horizon and a pair of assassins on his tail, Brock drops off the grid and joins forces with a disavowed Homeland Security operative. Together they race to stop the attack before Brock is neutralized by the people he trusts the most.

From critically acclaimed, bestselling novelist Steven James comes a smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller that asks just how far across the line we might go to see justice carried out.

If you decide to check out the books, we hope you’ll do so via these Amazon affiliate links: The Art of the Tale and Broker of Lies, where, if you choose to purchase via the link, DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 452

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 452: Pivot, Payoff, and the Geometry of Story – Interview with Steven James appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am so excited to have Steven James on the show!

Steve is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including 3 Christy Awards and being nominated as a finalist for an International Thriller Award.

He is also the author of the groundbreaking book on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, which won a 2015 Storytelling World Award. He also hosts the podcast “The Story Blender,” where he interviews great storytellers from the world of cinema, oral performance, and writing about the craft of great storytelling (and where I’ve had the honor of being a guest!).

Steve’s most recent novel, Every Wicked Man, is another exhilarating installment of the Bowers Files featuring his iconic character FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers. I have to admit, this book kind of scared the living daylights out of me and had me frantically turning the virtual pages on my Kindle.

Listen in as we chat about this awesome suspense-filled story, and how to craft a novel that will keep your readers guessing until the very end.

In this episode Steven and I discuss:

• How to craft a dynamic relationship over the course of a series.
• Four questions to ask yourself to help shape your story.
• Why you shouldn’t plan out surprising twists before hand.
• Breaking down the four elements of the perfect plot twist.
• How to pivot your story to give readers what they want or something even better.

Plus, Steven’s #1 tip for writers.

About Steven James

Steven James is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. He has a master’s degree in storytelling and is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest. Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including three Christy Awards for best suspense. His book The Queen was also a finalist for an International Thriller Award.

His groundbreaking book on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, won a 2015 Storytelling World Award, recognizing it as one of the year’s best resources for storytellers. He is also the author of Troubleshooting Your Novel, another Writer’s Digest title.

Steven is the host of the podcast “The Story Blender,” where he interviews great storytellers from the world of cinema, oral performance, and writing about the craft of great storytelling.

His latest suspense novel, Every Wicked Man, is now available.

To connect with Steven check out his website at www.stevenjames.net.

And don’t forget to check out the upcoming Character Writing Intensive Conference (discussed in this episode) featuring Steven James, David Corbett, and Susan May Warren on October 26-27, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.

This conference is designed to specifically help writers develop unforgettable characters that will emotionally resonate with your readers long after they’ve finished your story.

For more information about this awesome event visit www.characterconference.com. And if you use the coupon code ALUMNI you can save $25 off the cost of registration!

Every Wicked Man

A criminal mastermind’s chilling terrorist plot forces FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers to the brink…

When a senator’s son takes his own life and posts the video live online, Agent Bowers is drawn into a complex web of lies that begins to threaten the people he loves the most. As he races to unravel the mystery behind the suicide and a centuries-old code that might help shed light on the case, he finds a dark pathway laced with twists and deadly secrets that touch a little too close to home.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 216

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 216: Perfect Your Plot Twists — Interview with Steven James appeared first on DIY MFA.

What is the Novel Writing Intensive?

The Novel Writing Intensive is a retreat for writers—at any level, in any genre—to study craft and receive feedback on their writing. It consists of craft seminars, in depth critiques, career insights, and fellowship with other writers.

Seminars

The retreat had eight deep dive seminars covering scene development, plot, twists and endings, characters, tension, and setting. Each started with an overview, but then drilled down into more advanced concepts like cause and effect, micro tension, believability and causality, subtext, and how setting relates to character. I learned something new in each seminar— too many things to cover here. But I will touch on two new concepts for me—creating multi-dimensional characters through status, and creating conflict through setting.

Multi-dimensional Characters and Status

James explained in every social interaction, one person has or is vying for a higher status. Writers can show shifts from submission and dominance through dialogue, posture, pauses, communication patterns, body language, action, and thoughts.

Characters with high status may show confidence, eye contact, self-control, and courage. In contrast, a character with lower status will be arrogant, avert eye contact, lose control, and act cowardly.

Status can change based upon a situation (e.g., a man walks down the alley confronted by guys with pipes and chains, he has lower situational status), position (e.g., a teacher has higher positional status over student), or relationship (e.g., a father has higher relational status over his daughter).

Words used to describe actions can affect status too. For example, if Jane stomps across the floor (showing lack of self-control) or struts across it (implying the need for attention) she has lower status than someone who strides across it (showing composure and confidence).

The key to well-rounded characters is to make sure their status changes. James recommended during the editing process to keep in mind how we want our readers to feel about our characters and see if their actions, dialogue, gestures, and speaker attributions communicate the right level of status.

Creating Conflict Through Setting

Dugoni reminded us that plot is about a character trying to achieve a goal in the face of opposition. This opposition, or conflict, can be external (another character tries to stop the hero) and internal (some flaw in the hero’s character). But there is also a third element that is often overlooked— the environment.

Environment can be weather: a boy wants to take a girl on a picnic and it rains; a woman takes her grandson sailing and a gale blows in. But it can be also be anything non-human that conspires against the hero: an illness, a ticking clock, a baby carriage in the path of a police chase. The more extreme the opposition, the more stakes are raised. Writers consider plot and character, but often pay little attention to the environment. And it is a powerful storytelling tool.

Critiques and Career

We submitted the first fifty pages of our novels prior to the intensive and critique sessions were conducted between seminars. The class was divided in half—James took one group, Dugoni the other.

Each of us received a 75-minute detailed critique of our pages while others observed and learned from the session. Often instructors used critiques to reinforce concepts taught during seminars and then concluded with specific actions to strengthen the piece.

The instructor, who didn’t critique our pages, met with us for a one-on-one. The session was private, informal, and you could ask anything. Many of us used our time to ask career related questions.

Fellowship

With only 12 students, our class size was small and the setting intimate. Writers from around the country attended. Our backgrounds were diverse, our genres varied, and each of us were at different stages in our writing careers. (One writer had just published her 77th book.) We were the only guests at the Inn and all seminars, meals, and events occurred there. The structure fostered fellowship and an opportunity to connect and learn from each other.

Days started early in the morning and ran past dinner. One evening, Tony Marr, from The International Storytelling Center, gave a dynamic performance and reminded us how emotionally powerful good storytelling can be.

Another night, we watched movie clips that illustrated teaching points from our recent seminars. It was a great way to strengthen concepts we learned during the retreat.

When I left Tennessee, I felt encouraged and looked at my writing in a new way.

If you want an opportunity to be mentored by two amazing authors and take your writing to the next level, consider the NWI. The next session is in April 2019.

If that seems like light years away, James and Dugoni will teach at ThrillerFest in July. James also teams up with David Corbett and Susan May Warren for a Character Intensive Writing Conference in Atlanta October 26th-27th.

In the meantime, you can check out some of James’s lessons in his books, Story Trumps Structure and TroubleShooting Your Novel. His latest thriller, Every Wicked Man—the eleventh in the Bower Files series—will be available in September. Dugoni’s book, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, was released in April. Both have also written articles for Writer’s Digest.

Stacy Woodson writes romantic suspense and crime fiction. She is a U.S. Army veteran and memories of her time in the military play a role in her stories. A Daphne du Maurier winner and Publishers Weekly contributor, her recent story, “Duty. Honor. Hammett.,” will appear in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

The post The Novel Writing Intensive: Learning from Two Master Storytellers appeared first on DIY MFA.