PLOT LIKE YOU MEAN IT ~ BY RITA KARNOPP

What should you know about plotting a book?  Ask any writer and I’ll bet you’ll find a majority of them will admit – plotting is their favorite part of writing.

Plot is the writer’s choice of incidents to use to unfold the story of the character’s development and growth toward their goal or desire.   Wow that was a mouth full!  Let’s make some sense outta that!

Create plots and characters that are believable and work together.

It takes a series of conflicts to create a good plot.

·         Every scene should have incident, change, and conflict.  If a scene has no conflict, either delete it or create some.

o   Even small conflict must contribute to the changes your character will undergo.

·         People are defined by the choices they make under stress.  Great information to remember if you’re writing a suspense or thriller.

·         Make sure you aren’t adding meaningless action for reaction sake.   Keep in mind that the reader has to care about what is happening to the people in your story. 

Unfortunately I can’t say I’m perfect . . . bet you can’t either.  So, why would we want to create perfect characters?  Well, we shouldn’t.  The protagonist should have strengths and weaknesses.  He should also fail, and maybe not just once but several times before succeeding.  Failure builds conflict and emotions.

When you’re plotting keep in mind that your story is only as interesting as the characters make it – both the protagonist and the antagonist.

When I say a book was great – it’s usually because it surprised me.  I’m actually disappointed when I figure the plot out.

Never fall into the coincidence trap.  It’s a cop-out – you know it and so does the reader.

And finally, while plotting make sure you enrich your book with layer upon layer of internal and external conflict.  Create the mental or emotional struggles that occur within a character.  Build the struggle that occurs between a character and outside forces, which could be another character or the environment.

My next blog – let’s discuss the difference between event and character driven plots.

Welcome, Gregory Taylor

Note from Ging: I apologize for the confusion. Kelly A. Harmon was scheduled for today, but I've moved her up in the slot. She and I had shared miscommunications and I almost missed out on her fine post.

Anyhow...today I'm featuring a would-be author. I recently had the good fortune to meet a man named Greg Taylor, when he petitioned to join my author's loop. Greg is interested in writing, and clearly has the talent. In exchanging the normal welcomes, etc., I discovered Greg is homeless and lives in a shelter at the moment. He has shared openly all the events that led him to this stage of his life, so I asked his permission to share the following with you. I was touched beyond words when I read it.

As we leave behind Thanksgiving and progress toward Christmas, I think his post is the most fitting of all to conclude a month of Thankfulness and enhance in our memories that life is more than material things, and we have blessing we often forget to count. My appreciation to Greg for allowing me to post the following:

Before this day of Thanksgiving cometh to an end, allow me to express my thanks for that which I've been blessed . . . . .

My life within the very definition of vagrancy affords me a whole new appreciation for my circumstances.

One revels in a few rays of direct sunlight when the temperature is a notch or two above freezing, and you are fated to be out in the elements. A tall, wide building is a blessing for the windbreak it gives. And when frozen fingers struggle to hold pen to paper, the value of gloves cannot be overstated. Even a blank sheet of paper can be priceless when demand is there to document one's life.

Finding a public clock when one lacks a watch is a serious gain when one must be on time to a soup kitchen or go hungry. The resounding peal of a cathedral's carillon provides a warming rendition of familiar hymns of yore. And thank You for a day that is clear, that I am not chilled to the bone by a soaking rain.
I thank you, God, for a brain that is active and intelligent. Thank you Lord for my not being physically handicapped, or having dire health issues like cancer. I celebrate living in a city where I can sleep upon the pavement without fearing molestation or assault.

Lastly, I appreciate those things I do not have. Thank You for my not having a drug habit, nor an alcohol dependency, as do so many of my circumstance, as they seek escape in false releases. Thanks be above for my not being incarcerated, as freedom is so very priceless. And thank You for my being free from the stressers of divorce, the grief over a lost loved one, or other such like.

I have so very much, even now when I have so very little. Above all, I have you, my Lord, as my constant companion, as I journey through these dire times. For this, I am truly blessed.

Gregory Taylor via post by shared computer in Homeless Shelter, USA.