PROCESS OF PLOT

There are many ways writers tackle the various stages of putting together a story. Here is a guideline to the process of plot:

- Introduce your character.

- The ‘incident’ which changes your character’s life as she knew it.
- First turning point where something happens which alters her thought patterns on solving her problem; perhaps forcing her to venture out of her comfort zone.
- Second turning point introducing more conflict, where for example her behaviour changes. She finds something inside of her she didn’t know she had. Bring out the hero inside of your character!
- Crisis point where your character has the choice to stand and fight for what she wants and believes in, or run for all she is worth.
- The climatic point where the truth is revealed, followed by the resolution that leaves your reader fulfilled by the outcome of the story.

Here is what David B Silva had to say about the successful novel writer Dean Koontz:

If you want it direct and succinct, here’s the way Koontz does it:

1. He gives us main characters that we will care about.

2. He places these characters in immediate and often desperate situations. They must overcome right away if they are to survive.

3. He never allows the readers to catch up with him. There are always new and unanticipated surprises just around the bend.

Keep writing....