The temptation to over-simplify secondary characters, especially bad guys, hits me every time I write a first draft. Since my books are short, I don’t have much space to devote to sub-plots, and some of the characters are off-camera anyway. These bad-guy characters are typically exes—ex-boyfriends, ex-wives, ex-in-laws. You know,…
If you’re like me, you probably have twenty-plus books on the writing craft hanging around. They’re on my office shelf. Stacked on my desk. Lingering under my nightstand in my bedroom. I can’t seem to get enough books on writing!
Not only do I keep buying books (which is part of my personal continuous education plan), I review old ones periodically to refresh my skills. One of the topics I return to again and again is key plot points.
Since I’m a novelist, creating a cohesive plot is very important to me. What’s more, I write commercial fiction. Readers of commercial fiction have clear expectations for story, specifically what makes it good and what makes it compelling.
Writers don’t always know how to translate the idea in our head to the page in a cohesive way. That’s why understanding basic plot points can be so helpful for plotters (writers who plan the story out before writing) and pantsers (writers who pour the story out as it comes to them).
What I’m sharing today is my personal bare-bones, essential 5 plot points. These were derived from various plotting methods (I’ve included links at the end of the post).
One nice perk of knowing this basic story structure is that the 5 plot points make a simple synopsis. Expand on them for a more detailed synopsis.
You might have a different take on key plot points. That’s fine. Whatever works for you! This works for me.
To stay with January’s productivity/time management theme, I’m sharing links to a few blog posts I recently read.
Here’s an excerpt:
1. Disconnect…and be disciplined about it—
So easy to say, so hard to do.In my early years of writing there weren’t as many distractions as there are today—yes, we did already have cell phones and email (I wrote my first novel in 2002, not the dark ages!)—but phones and email and social media weren’t the “great commanders of time” as they seem to be now. The number of ways to communicate has increased exponentially since then. Which, in turn, has contributed to our lack of concentration and ability to focus.
Now there’s Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, blogs and the list goes on and on. An author could easily spend the majority of her time doing social media, staying connected with readers (which is an absolute blast!), and sorting the rest of “life stuff” that always crops up—and never write. Or at least never finish that novel.
The best—the only—way I’ve found that works for me is to turn it off. Literally.
There’s much more to it, and it’s worth the entire read. You can find the rest of the post HERE.
This month I’m sharing tips based on my experience with setting and meeting goals. I’ll be the first to admit I’m self-motivated and disciplined. However, I have blind spots about habits that don’t always work well for me.
Three years ago, I got serious about reworking my schedule to address those habits. You can read about it in “Get More Done with a Plan.” The schedule worked really well until the pandemic hit.
I slipped into my old habits. Yeah, I still met my deadlines, but I was no longer making time for the lower-priority projects. When I don’t make time for them, they NEVER get done. Because there’s always another high-priority project to jump the line.
Well, it’s Monday as I write this, and I already feel overwhelmed. My grocery order had some surprises I hadn’t anticipated. The fruit flies are out in force, and spiders are making their way into my home because they know winter is coming. I hate spiders.
When I look at my planner for this week, I swallow and it’s more like a gulp.
On the to-do list:
On October 26, 2021, my new series, WYOMING RANCHERS, launches with the first book hitting store shelves! And to celebrate, I’m hosting a month-long book giveaway featuring THE PRODIGAL’S HOLIDAY HOPE with some fun prizes!
When you’re in the middle of writing a book, it’s easy to get discouraged. You might not be sure what’s supposed to happen next. You certainly can’t remember what happened two chapters ago. The main characters you thought you knew so well seem wobbly, like you don’t know them at all.
This is when it gets tempting to avoid writing.
When everything inside you is screaming to do ANYTHING but write (hello, laundry! Why, yes, I need to scrub my stovetop right this minute…), extinguish those screams.
Sit down.
Write something.
Anything. Even if it’s ten words. Five.
I'm taking a blog break until mid-August! I hope you enjoy these summer days as much as I'm trying to! I'll be posting August's goals on August 11th! Happy summer!!
The busy summer has just begun, and I’m already loving it!
We’ve been able to spend time with both my hubby’s family and my family this month, which is practically unheard of outside the holidays. It was so great to see everyone.
We also celebrated our anniversary with a trip to the Toledo Zoo and a romantic dinner after. The zoo had baby tiger twins, and they were the cutest things. Plus, the otters were swimming and having a good old time. They are a lot of fun to watch. Here’s one below.
A little over two years ago, I read Cal Newport’s book, Digital Minimalism (#affiliatelink), and it made a huge impact on me. I immediately did a digital minimalism experiment by setting rules regarding my phone and laptop. In fact, I wrote about it in a blog post back in March 2019, “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.”
Here’s a snippet:
“Scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and various news sites often eat up precious evening hours. And I couldn’t tell you what I’ve gotten out of all the mindless scrolling! Another problem I have? If I’m working on my laptop and check in on Facebook, I feel anxiety over unanswered private messages (I don’t use Facebook Messenger on my phone and only get private messages from my laptop). Ditto for unanswered emails–even if I get them at 10pm!”
I also went on to describe the actions I was taking to combat the digital takeover of my free time.