This past Saturday, I had the privilege of attending Steven James’ Trouble-Shooting Your Novel seminar in Nashville.

Steven is pictured here with author Eric Wilson, author and editor Jodie Renner, and literary agent Jonathan Clements.

Steven James, Eric Wilson, Jodie Renner, & Jonathan Clements

The day flew by as Steven, who has a Master’s degree in Storytelling, shared insights and principles of story-telling gleaned from his own experiences as a multi-published writer of suspense. It’s clear he has given a great deal of thought to the art and craft of spinning stories in such a way that readers won’t be able to stop flipping the pages until they reach “The End.”

Steven is the author of one of my favorite books on writing, Story Trumps Structure. It validates my own intuitive approach to writing novels while also providing specific techniques for strengthening my skills.

I’ve highlighted passages throughout the books, but here’s one I love:

Readers “want a strong story that will resonate with them and speak to them deeply.”

Those are the kinds of novels I want to write–stories that linger with readers long after they’ve closed the book.

If you’re love to write stories and have the opportunity to hear Steven speak, I have one word of advice: GO!

And if that’s not possible, grab a copy of Story Trumps Structure. It’s the next best thing to hearing him in person.