L-O-V-E

Years ago, while I was drafting THE FIRE WALKERS, I'd tweeted a message about love and language.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the stores fill up with red and pink greeting cards, heart-shaped candy, and novelty plush animals that, with the press of a button, croon Nat King Cole songs to you.

I confess, Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It's a great reason to celebrate your loved ones, whether that significant other be spouse, family, friend, or animal compadre.

The holiday gives me the perfect excuse to do what I always do – explore all the ways love is communicated.

And as a romance writer, V-Day illustrates my job, the art of describing love in words, which is difficult.

How do you convey an emotion so powerful?

We sing about it, write poems, draw images, capture photographs, and write stories about this one multi-faceted emotion. Love is a paradox because everyone has experienced it, but in an infinite number of individual ways.

There’s passion, affection, appreciation, friendship…. And all these nuances, these distinct little sensations, add up to make one unified whole. I’m amazed that so few words can express it. 

That 47 synonyms encompass all the l-o-v-e.

Anytime I see a well-written illustration of amore in any form (movie scene, music lyric, line in a book), I like to collect it. I write them down and return to them anytime I want to feel good.

I’d never really shared the quotes before last year, when I'd decided to post “A Day of Love Quotes.” One love phrase every hour in honor of Valentine’s Day.

To make it a tradition, I’ve decided to post a new list of quotes next Saturday (2/14/2016), and you're invited to read along or contribute.

Whatever declaration of love has ever stood out to you – be it poem, song, quote, phrase, story, tradition, or word of advice – please feel free to share (in the comments below or on my Twitter page, @ShelleyNGreene during the live feed) this Valentine’s Day.

Let’s celebrate with words of love. <3

-          -  SNG 

THE VOICE

A while ago I received some sage advice. 

Sitting in the break room at lunch, my mind mulled over revisions I’d done on my manuscript the night before.  The events I’d written flowed, the descriptions doing their job, but somewhere in the maze of who and what and how, I wondered if the way I conveyed it made sense.  An author’s job is to entertain the reader, so the questions bubbled: Did I tell the tale clearly?  Am I a good narrator? 

          Does the way I narrate have style?  
  

          The strongest authors have a tone so individual that it compromises their ability to submit work anonymously.  Authors—great authors—create a rhythm, a beat; a pattern of writing that is so distinctively theirs, that the book cover could be blank and you’d still know who wrote it.  They have a voice.

         Submerged in thought, I hardly noticed when my co-worker joined me at the table.  Noting the silence, he spoke. “You seem distracted, what’s up?”

          “I’m worried that I don’t have a voice,” I said, throwing out my concerns.

          “A voice?”

          “In my writing.  It’s—” I tried to find the right words to describe it.  “It’s the personal climate a writer uses when they impart a story.  The way a storyteller crafts narrative.  They speak in a certain mode, use certain words… When you read a book by your favorite author, then a different book of the same genre—the differences in tone are the writer’s voice.”

          My co-worker nodded, understanding.  “And you think that you don’t have one?”

          “I don’t know.” I paused, confused.  “It’s hard to tell when you’re reading your own work.”

          His face went serious.  “Well, I don’t know much about the writing process, but I’m assuming you’ve written more than one story?”

          I paused again, thinking.   I have a slew of drafts, several short stories, plus the two full-length novels before my current manuscript.  I bobbed my head.  “A few."

          “Have you read them recently?”

Uh.  I had to think about it.  It’d been a while.  “Over a year ago.”

“Pull one your earlier stories out and re-read it.  He dipped his head in encouragement.  “It may be hard to find in your initial stuff, but compare to your most recent work.  I bet if you have a voice, you’ll see it in the comparison.”

The idea was so simple, it was brilliant.  From the mouths of co-workers.

I went home later that night and pulled up my first novel on my computer. The draft represented a lot. The onset of giving this author gig a shot, and something miraculous happened.

I started reading and couldn’t stop.  

The first page rolled into five, thirteen, twenty. 

Following the heroine, I could see something there, this tempo, a little stattaco in certain places, but a fledgling cadence starting to emerge.    

I got lost in my own story.

This experience resulted in a self-present.  I had that story, my first brain-baby, printed and book-bound so that I may hold it.  It cost a bit of money, but I look on it as my beginning, something I want to preserve. 

I read it again when it arrived in the mail, this time flipping the pages over, one by one. Savoring it.

There’s a special joy that comes from writing, and it’s amazing how much a bunch of words on paper can represent.

 It’s not every day that you discover your voice.  

- SNG   ;0)

LAYERS

         The other day I hit a wall.  Writing for six hours straight resulted in seven pages of simple dialogue and basic action.  Reviewing it, the text functioned, but minimally.  The script a thin outline to the multi-dimensional production I'd had in my mind. 

  

           Stepping back, I made myself stop and think. 

           Comparing writing to other forms of art, a fact occurred to me:

           Similar to painting, writing isn’t single-layered. Not at all. As much as I’d like to just lump a character or situation down in one sitting, the story doesn’t always unfurl that easily.  Sometimes you have go over it once, once more to add POV details, then again for back-story, and lastly for nuances that put the finishing touch on the plot and themes. 
                      

           A good example of this is Renaissance artist (and genius) Leonardo Di Vinci who used sheer coats of paint in his works, his technique evolving over time.  The Mona Lisa alone has been proven to have at least thirty layers, the final piece a result of many embellishments—many additions.

          I added layers to my writing.

And It’s good to have a system, a process that allows your free-flowing side to get all the imaginative sketches, color and definition down first before any edits are made. I've learned that inspiration doesn’t always come easily, sometimes it acts against you more than it cooperates. You need to give yourself credit for the time, energy and dedication writing requires. 

         Your story isn’t crap just because it didn’t miraculously pop out of your head fully formed. You have to do the work and make mistakes—lots of mistakes.  But it’s worth it. 

Plug away at it first and then revise.  No masterpiece is ever made in a day.  

Or in six hours. 

GOING THE DISTANCE

It’s August.  AUGUST.  

Staring slack-jawed at the calendar I have to refrain from the internal barrage of “why isn’t _____ done yet?”   With set timelines for my writing, no excuse seems viable enough to explain where two-thirds of the year went.   

          In retrospect, I should answer to the English degree hanging on the wall.

But starting out, is starting out.  There’s a balance to it, one that involves no time off and a coffee IV.

          Writing is an art, like singing or dancing or painting.  All artists have to work and perform at some point in the beginning.  There are biographies of singers who lived on their dilapidated tour buses, and used glue guns to design their stage clothes.  Dancers who didn’t just walk onto a stage and know the steps.  They practiced them. Musicians repeat the notes, that inflection over and over until perfect.  Performers turn and step, jump and land, bruise and bleed, until the move looks flawless.  

           I try to remember that.

          Writers draft and cut, patch and par down; prune, elaborate, clarify, enunciate, reveal and cliff-hang.  We work the words.  And sometimes the words pin us to the floor, not the other way around…

          And still I write.  I struggle.  There are times that for all the endless revising, I don’t think that I've earned the title of “Writer.” 

But I believe that any endeavor in which time flies, whatever hobby that engulfs you fully, is what you’re meant to do. 

          Watching the Olympics this week, that principle got me thinking.

          Proud participants from around the world stood representative of their countries; talented athletes that trained and practiced for years.  In a myriad of categories, the best of the best competed in the games, expressing physical excellence in each of their selected fields.  

          I harbor that passion for writing, and I’m not alone.  Looking around, I’ve always held a deep unity with other writers.  I respect the hardship of it, the challenge; the resulting joy when published.  I want everyone to be successful, and I want to succeed, so I can one day have the honor of standing up with other great authors. 

I love the diversity of the sub-genres.  There are historical writers (to whom I give mad props for doing all that added research), paranormal, YA, and suspense. 

Some knew that they wanted to write at eighteen, some followed a longer path to getting established.

As someone who took a long time to discover what I wanted to do with my life, I can say that I feel at home with authors who got their start in their later years.  I had an author that I respect and admire say that she, a “late bloomer”, discovered romance in her early-thirties, which thrilled me to no end, because I did, too.  :0D

It’s a journey to find what you love to do, and a test to prove that you can actually do it.  You have to remember that you’re not alone.  Ask others how they made it, be inspired by their stories.

The images of those Olympians come to mind.  It’s amazing to see what muscles they have. Swimmers are lean and toned, equestrians lithe and petite, runners holding bulk in only the areas that serve them on the track. 

This made me wonder:  What muscles does a writer have?

Comparing the two professions; writing challenges have knocked me down and forced me to build brain muscle.  

But if never faced with the hurdles, how do you learn?  If you do everything perfect the first time, how do you become better?

Like an Olympian, those are the scuffs and scrapes that define your character. 

I’m sure that every one of those hopefuls had to face pressure, stress and failure.  They’ve shed tears for the broken bones, pulled muscles, and frustration when their best wasn’t good enough.

Sitting down at my desk each night, I don’t imagine any songs of victory playing; don’t envision any moments of glory.  I do know that it’s important, however, that simple act of sitting down to get started.  If even for a short while…

I assume the writing position, and the muscle of my mind comes awake.  My body conditioned, my head familiar with the drill.

Like a runner poised at the starting line.

Body limber, knees crouched, fingers tented against the hard ground. 

Maybe it’s like that: Ready.  Set.  Go.

47 Seconds

There are points in one’s writing journey where you start to question, “Am I meant to do this?  Can I do this?”

          A few weeks ago I submitted a portion of my story for critique and received some frank advice in response.  Going into it I knew what the chapter lacked, but something in hearing the direct feedback still jarred me.  The reviewer was honest with me, and delivered the information in a softer manner than she would anyone else, which was appreciated, but I'm not going to lie.

          It felt like a punch to the gut.  As all constructive criticism does.

          Wading through the revisions, I felt disheartened.  I want my work to be professional and presentable.  The problem is that I want to work with a mainstream publisher, and that requires extra everything: a literary agent, a perfect query letter, a flawless manuscript...

          Staring at my computer screen, an image of auto racing came to mind.  Large-house publishing is like that.  You have the established names—the writing pros—out on the track, making the laps.  A new author only gets the caution flag and pace car for so long before they have to be familiar with the speed, ready to go the distance.

Image Source

          Reading over the critique notes, my heart sank again. 

Will I ever get up to speed?

          A quote popped into my head:

“I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.” 

- George Burns

          Along with a memory…

          A mutual friend I knew in high school once invited a group of us out to her family’s lake house.  I’d never been out in nature like that before, asked to bring my bathing suit and head out to spend a weekend outside.  It sounded exciting.

We'd camped out in sleeping bags spread out on their back deck, where I saw every star in the sky that first night. The next morning our friend and her brother walked us to the docks.

          “Have you ever been waterskiing before?” she asked, hopping aboard their motorboat.

          Shaking my head, I hadn’t.  The whole operation appeared wild, equipment and ropes and vests, but I couldn’t say no.  Why not try?

Twenty minutes later, I sat floating out in the water, life vest buoyed up around my ears, flexing my legs as I worked to keep the two skis from crisscrossing in the air.  Following my friend’s instructions, I positioned myself as if I “were sitting in a Laz-E-Boy recliner,” awaiting the signal that they were going to start the boat.

          “Go slow,” I heard my friend tell her brother, the captain of the vessel.

          Then he gunned the gas and I went airborne.  I lost one ski that first time, and I could of sworn that I'd managed to balance one-footedly, if I hadn’t immediately been dragged into half-mile long belly-flop/human rock-skip across the water’s surface.   

My friend slapped her brother’s arm, reiterating, “This is her first time, slow down!”

          Spitting water and nursing a magenta-pink stomach, I climbed aboard and we retrieved the lost ski.

          “Sorry,” he called out to me.

 Waving an It’s okay, I jumped back into the lake and got into position.

“Again,” I said.

“Ready?” the brother called out.

“Ready,” I affirmed.

It took a several more tries.  On a latter attempt, I felt the propulsion lift me up, my legs bracing and utilizing the leverage.  Balancing, I didn’t fall, didn’t fold.  After an initial ten seconds I dared to look around as we’d circled the lake.  Wind blowing through my hair, I flew across the water.

I stayed up 47 seconds.  I'd learned how to water-ski.

Looking back at my ripped apart chapter, several truths dawned on me:

 I’m not staunchly competitive.  The thrill of the win isn’t as important to me as doing the job right.  I may not be able to move as fast or be as prolific as some.

I’m not aggressive, I’m tenacious.  

So I will say, “Again.” 

I will go again and again and AGAIN until I get this right. 

If I stay afloat 47 months, 47 days, 47 hours, or even just 47 seconds in this industry, I’ll be happy.

I’m not stopping until I fly.

-         SNG

X is for X-MARK

            I cracked open the dictionary and there were like, five words for X.

            Okay, I’m exaggerating—there were twelve.   But I suspect that everyone participating in this challenge has had to get creative with this letter.

            For me, X stands for an author's simple signature. Your mark.  

            Whatever you write; be it romance, comedy, action, science, erotic or intrigue—it has your fingerprint  on it. 

            And that’s one heck of an X. 

            Only two letters left!   Where has April gone??


            Tomorrow Y is for YARDSTICK. 

            Goodnight!

W is for WORD CHOICE

              Keeping it simple tonight.  


              I almost changed W to be something else because this topic is another one of my weak areas.  There are subjects I get windbag about, some that I know a little something and then topics like this.  But everyone has been accepting of my naiveté so far, which I appreciate.  The more you practice, the more you learn, right?  :0)

            And the way I understand it, word choice is where you choose the most succinct and appropriate word in a sentence.  The word can be long, short, multi syllable or humble, as long as it sums up your point concisely.  This concept is simple enough, but the biggest hurdle I've encountered with word choice is vocabulary.  

Or in my case, limited vocabulary.  

It’s tough to cinch a sentence when you have a narrow list of words to pick from. 


In the T is for TENSE entry I’d mentioned that children learn by hearing and repeating, and it’s interesting how language is picked up from one’s environment that way.  Traditionally, you need to hear a word or expression being used before you integrate it into your own verbal collection.  And when I think about it, my vocabulary consists mainly of idioms and terms spoken by people in my surroundings, my family and friends.  And while this is good for everyday conversation, it's generally expected that a writer’s glossary be much more expansive.

            So with my writing I strive to be a word collector, contributing new terms to my mental dictionary every day.  Call me strange, but in my nightstand I keep a 5”x8” steno pad of paper and a pen handy to jot down words that stand out to me when I'm reading.  I make a mental note if I hear a new phrase used in conversation, and I even have a word-a-day calendar on my wall, so I can take a new word with me. 

             My goal is to use the new word at least three times that day, allowing its meaning and application to sink in. 

             

            The game is pretty fun.  In the last month alone I’ve come across words such as: 

Parietal,   Disingenuous,  Kitted,  Semaphore,  Gloze,  Evince,   Prurient, Estival,  Didactic,  Vinaceous,   Anneal,   Popinjay,  Intestate, Turbid  and  Deft

            And there are terms that really center in on the action like:

            Susurrus,  Flyting,  Keelhaul,  Deke and  Chicane

          Simple formations of letters that have prompted me to explore new places, situations and things.

           

             Isn't it amazing how powerful one little word can be?

 

            Please come back tomorrow—X is for X-Mark. 

            Goodnight!

V is for VILLAIN

*Shelley clears throat—hums loudly*  

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Tonight’s letter gave me the perfect opportunity to do that—V is for Villain.

One would think that a villain would be an easy topic, but I found that it really brushes up against our last letter, the Usual suspects. 

In a majority of fiction today, the villain is one dimensional.  He’s bad to the literal bone.  Which makes sense because he is the bad guy, but like secondary characters, there are archetypes to the baddies.  

These outlines make for strong villains, they play the role right—I mean, if you can’t be good, heartless is the way to go, however in the genre I write--Romance--the villains need not always be so mean.  In the last novel I wrote, I took a different tack with my villain, and in turn, got a lot of feedback.  Going into it I thought of the bad guy as a real person, and I asked, “What would make this character do this despicable thing to the heroine?” 

In the story, the baddie is an ex-fiancé who technically leaves the heroine at the altar on their wedding day.  This should make him an unforgivable @#$&*!, right?

But I wanted to pull on the heartstrings of the reader a little bit, so I gave the ex a reason for doing what he did.  Yes, I gave the jerk enough “likeableness” for the reader to be conflicted over his motives.  In the end he still does the evil deed, but you can sort of understand why.

This is a fantastic counterpart to have in your story.  The reader wants to connect to the villain but can’t because the badness gets in the way.  This technique has been used in breakout fiction quite a lot in recent years—Severus Snape has one of the biggest frickin’ fan clubs I’ve ever seen.  

When the reader can relate to the villain—just a little bit—then the drama begins.  The bad guy isn’t merely a dark soul, he's a lost one.  

 It’s important to keep the balance, the villain has to remain parallel to the hero, but a touch of concern makes the reader really consider your bad guy, rather than simply write them off in the beginning.  That makes for great tension.  You want your reader to be torn, to scream, 
               “I want to like you, why must you be so bad?!”

Then your bad guy can tip his black hat and reply, 

         “’Cause I’m the villain. Muahahaha.”   ;0)

Only four more letters to go! 

Please come back tomorrow—W is for WORD CHOICE.

-SNG

U is for the USUAL SUSPECTS

            Let’s do this.  Time to throw open the door, trot ‘em out and line ‘em up.   You know who I'm talking about - the Usual Suspects.

            When writing fiction, your hero and heroine are always the main focus.  While they interact with the leads, the secondary characters are primarily in place to play specific roles: the temptress, mentor, confidant, fool, trickster, devil, fool, king/father, etc.  These functions are important to the story, but often the rudimentary job of the secondary character gets a little played-out.  That’s when they become the usual suspects.  

            The bubbly best girlfriend, the trusty guy companion, the smarmy rich guy there to rival the poor-guy hero, to cite a few. 

            Essentially the usual suspects are stock characters and they get that bum rap because, let’s face it, they work.  They have the heroine's back at the right time and enable the hero to ride to the rescue on his horse.  This is good, but if you want your writing to stand out, you want to push against the tried-and-overused.  Turn the usual on its head.  Avoid the stereotype.  

            It is okay to go with the same ol' suspect line-up, just give them new traits.  For instance, don’t let the trickster look so mischievous.  Let him act smooth, almost innocent.

            Make the mentor reluctant; the sage scatterbrained, the confidante assertive.  Keep them simple, but hard to pick out of the crowd.  Call in the unusual suspects.  

            We’re in the homestretch to Z!  Twenty-one letters down, five to go! 

            Please join me tomorrow—V is for Villain.   *evil grin*

            Goodnight! 

T is for TENSE

          Looking at my letter list, I figured that this would probably be the “See Spot Run” entry, but that’s okay.  Twenty letters in and we’ve had a few tough ones, funny ones and brief ones.  Our alphabet is winding down fast.

            And verb tense determines in what time your narrator is speaking.  It basically determines if the action is currently happening, will happen in the future or has already occurred.


Simple Present:       She writes

Present Perfect:      She has written

Simple Past:             She wrote

Past Perfect:            She had written

Future:                      She will write

Future Perfect:        She will have written

            I think I got that right(?)  Honestly, verb conjugation intimidates the crap out of me.  All the perfects, participles, regular vs. irregular and subject-verb agreement makes me anxious.  With all those rules, there is too many ways to mess up.

   The best advice is to choose a tense and then play it by ear.  Children learn language by hearing and repeating; adults are the same way.

The only caution in writing is that you want to try to avoid passive language.  The verb “was” is an indicator of the passive “to be” when paired with a past participle.  An easier way to spot this—as a wise contest judge once taught me—is to search your word document for the term “was.”  If more than fifteen highlights pop up on the page, you’re using passive language.  It’s not officially wrong to write passive, it’s just that staying in the moment is the strongest way to hold your reader's attention.  You can write in the past tense and still be in the center of the action.

            Okay, this is the last toughy letter, I swear. 

If you come back tomorrow, we’re in for some fun—U is for the USUAL SUSPECTS.

            *heeheeheee*  Goodnight!

S is for SUBTEXT

            This is Saturday’s entry submitted late Sunday night.  I flip-flopped the post schedule, taking Saturday as the free day; I hope that’s okay according to blog fest rules.   It’s just been a long week and that worked out better for me.

            That and I looked at my A- Z schedule and decided that if I do this again next year I’m not allowed to pick the list of letters anymore. 

Real letter list.  ;0)

             I should have of learned with analogy and narrative voice… I like the tricky topics, and tonight is another whopper.  S is for SUBTEXT.

When I think of subtext, I break down the word in my mind.  SUB meaning “below” or “hidden,” and TEXT meaning “written” or “spoken.”

And that is what subtext is: the unspoken, subconscious meaning of writing.

            Subtext can be found everywhere in literature and in your favorite novels.  Some books have subtext used throughout and some have it only here and there, but almost all subtext is seen using metaphor.  The narrator is saying or describing one thing, but the subliminal message is implying something else.

           And your writing needn't be real elaborate or overly detailed, it simply has to offer a deeper meaning to the literal.

Tomorrow I will take the English literature hat off, I promise!   Lol.

Please come back—T is for TENSE.

Goodnight!  :0)

            

R is for RESEARCH

            Research is a double-edged sword for some.   For me, it’s another one of those, “I know a little about it, but not everything” kind of topics.

            This being the digital age, I understand that most research is done through the internet.  

            And when preparing to write a story, a writer has to perform a lot of research on an array of different topics.  What your character does for a living, their psychology and even the car they drive can all be reasons to hit the search engines.

            One personal research experience I have is with my second romantic-suspense. The plot centered around a team of FBI agents, which resulted in more research than I ever imagined.  Sarah and I had quite a few long conversations about everything from what firearms an agent would carry to whether or not my injured hero could handle the kick-back when shooting one-handedly.  

           And aside from all the physical spy-guy stuff, there were a several girly queries too.  The HEA for one of my heroines involved a hunk of a diamond engagement ring.  When looking up information on Harry Winston, I discovered that the company rarely works with stones that are smaller than three carats.  So in order for the facts and the fiction to come together and still be feasible (a FBI agent with a Harry Winston-sized salary), I had to do a lot of research. 

Pretty detailed stuff, right?  Lol. 

                          

            And Sarah’s real-life knowledge helped me a lot with that story. I've still never met anyone else who knows the dynamics of shooting a gun, blinding by engagement ring, a fireman's carry, biting by a toddler and Judo.  LOL!  She’s just THAT good.

            And if you happen to have a certain area of expertise—include it in your story. I guarantee readers will notice the mindful detail. 

            Personally, I feel like I still have much to learn about formal research—I would love to discuss it with other authors and compare techniques.  

Over the years I’ve heard many authors talk about how they’ve conducted interviews to gather data.  When your character is a police officer or an FBI agent, a chef or a PR rep, it’s good to perform that kind of thorough research about their job.  And while you’re at the interview table, don’t be afraid to ask about the inside facets of that career. 

That's one perk I love about being a writer--you get the inside scoop on so many areas of life.  

The only caveat to keep in mind is that not all information regarding certain positions (i.e. federal law enforcement) can be made public, so it’s good to also note what is open to fictionalization and what is not.  There are workshops offered on going “Inside the FBI for Writers,” and I imagine that’s a good place to start when writing a Fed-based book.  

And here I’ll beseech everyone to teach me—in what ways have you conducted writing research?  Any fun stories to share?  Any systems or methods that you find helpful?  How do you go about setting up an research interview? 

            Thanks for stopping by and please come back tomorrow—
            S is for SUBTEXT.

            Goodnight!   :0)

Q is for QUIRK

A big aim for fiction writers is to create memorable characters.  You want your heroes and heroines to be funny, cute, handsome, accomplished, brave, loving…

            (Stay with me, we’re almost done) …strong, charming and kind.

            That’s a long list.  And, let’s be honest, I know a few of you were yawning halfway through.  That’s okay.  That’s what our Q is going to fix.  All those attributes are great, it's what makes a hero a good, likable character.  We just don't want them to be TOO good.  


            Admit it, too good is kind of…annoying.

            I mean, if your characters are flawless, then what do they have to change?  How can a reader relate to them?

              One easy and fun way to solve this dilemma is to give your character a quirk—a unique or weird tendency that makes them different.  Quirks can be habitual like gum-chewing, a coffee addiction or a pattern of speech like stuttering when nervous.  Your character can have a weakness for shopping, drive like a maniac or be an uncontrollable flirt.  Quirks help define a character and are a good way to let the conflict and humor naturally unfold. 

            

            And quirks can be more complex, too, like a medical condition, something that challenges your character, which in turn adds depth to your story.


                   

            And that’s the power of a good quirk.  Let it flesh out your characters and thicken your plot.  

            Tomorrow—R is for RESEARCH. 

            Goodnight!  :0)

P is for PLOT

I'm going to keep this uber short tonight.  It's been a looooong day!

Plot is tiny word with big meaning.  It's the timeline of events in your story.  The map of how and when your book unfolds.

The most basic plot can be dynamic.  It's mainly comprised of five phases including:

 INTRO - INCREASING ACTION - CLIMAX - DECREASING ACTION - EXIT

There are other models out there that break it down and define it well.

And that's it.  Short, sweet.  


I'm worn out from all that pan-banging yesterday.  Tomorrow will be another fun letter, though.  


Please come back for:  Q is for QUIRK.

See you then!  ;0)