Free How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) by Susan May Warren

Minnesota, praying for a way to destroy the Hayat cell, and it all had to come to a head the same day his mistakes rose from the past to haunt him.
    Sorry Lew.
    Tell Bonnie and the girls I love them. Lew’s words, hovering in the back of Will’s mind could still turn his throat raw. And, if Simon bought it, Will would be sending yet another letter home to the wife and loved ones.
    Soldiers like Lew and Simon, like himself, had no business getting married.
    Will’s breath razored inside his lungs. A branch clipped him and ruts bit into his thin loafers as he ran, sweat lining his spine. Overhead, the sky mirrored his despair in the pallor of gray, the clouds heavy with tears. How long had he been unconscious after they’d thrown him off the four-wheeler?
    Better question – how much did they guess about his alliance with Simon? Obviously, the good ol’ boys who snatched him as he’d sat in his truck, waiting for his contact and regretting his choices, knew Will’s habits. Simon’s habits. They’d found them, despite the fact that he and Simon had picked the backwoods gravel pit for its remoteness. But please, please, let them believe Will’s lies . . . which would mean maybe Simon’s cover hadn’t been blown.
    Maybe there wouldn’t be another unnamed star embedded in the wall of honor at Langley.
    Hopefully you see the setting, along with the emotion of panic, as well as regret in the backstory. From here, the story takes off into action, and we don’t return to Lew’s story (and how it fits into Will’s motivation) until a few more chapters. However, we do know that Lew was a soldier, and that Will had to send his letter home, which makes Will sympathetic, as well as motivated to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And, hopefully it has raised questions (e.g., who is Lew, what does the invitation from Bonnie have to do with the story, and what is Will’s mission?) In the middle of the Inciting Incident, the last thing we want is a long, drawn-out history lesson. However, without some Resonance, we don’t understand the motivation.
    Think of backstory like a speed bump. It hiccups the reader’s forward motion. As you’re writing your scene, ask yourself, on every line;Have I bogged down the action? Here’s a trick I try: After I’ve written the scene, I go through and ask myself if the reader need to know this. Can I take this line out? Can I say this more succinctly, with active verbs, in deeper POV that moves the story? And if I have to use backstory, I try to keep it to two lines at a time.
    Okay, great, I have Delicacy and Resonance,but again, how do I start the story?
    Okay, okay . . . the answer? Start with a Big BANG!
    Let’s see, over the past hour I’ve loaded the dishwasher, checked my e-mail, fed the dog, checked my e-mail, browned hamburger, checked my e-mail, made rice, searched for chocolate (none!), again checked e-mail . . . .
    But see, I’m working. Really . What I’m doing is searching for my hero’s Inciting Incident. I know what has to happen later on in the scene, what I hope to accomplish, but I need something powerful, something to really pinpoint how he’s feeling at this very moment, to give the reader a glimpse into his world, and offer enough of a motivation to undergird his next step.
    What I need is a BANG!! to get his (and my) attention.
    How do you determine how and when to start your story? Do you start it on a calm day, set the scene, and then hit him with a BANG? Or, do you start him in mid-run, as he’s being chased down the street? Or, should you start after the Inciting Incident, when he’s trying to figure out what to do? And, do you start with something physical, or something emotional? Bad newsor bad event?
    Here are the determinations that go into choosing my Inciting Incidents, and starting with a BANG!: Believability, Action, Need, Genre.

The Big BANG
    Believability – Do you need to build sympathy for your character before the Inciting Incident will