A LOT ON PLOT

So at the workshop on Saturday we covered plot and structure. Here's a link to a lot of the information we covered, for those of you who couldn't scribble notes fast enough.

I also want to add some great advice I heard from author Donna Fletcher Crow later on that day. She said that a realistic way to structure your novel is by scene and sequel--also known as action and reaction. For example, you don't want to follow a car chase with another car chase. You need to give the characters and readers time to process what just happened.

One other point that Donna made was that the success of your novel is almost directly related to the success of your black moment. At the workshop we discussed how the black moment comes right before the climax. It's the point where all hope seems to be lost, where the character must rise above thier cirucumstances to achieve the impossible. This is what everything in your story should be building to. This is what will keep your reader thinking about the story long after they finish it.

So again, it was great meeting many of you at the workshop. Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope that I've encouraged your writing as much as I was encouraged in my writing this weekend.