I rarely suffer from writer’s block. I am a serial plotter. I know how it all ends. Since I know how it ends, I began to backtrack my way into filling in the holes, plot points and calls to action to keep the story moving forward. I limit the initial characters in the story to four people, and once I understand what each of those people need, seek or crave for a solution to the issue, we have a story. (I can add more characters later as needed for connectivity and continuity).

Now, here is where the fun happens.

I begin my outline. It’s a loose structure of 17 bullets points. Those are my chapters. Next, I need a theme for the story. I usually based this on a word, for example accident. I research then located all the synonyms for "accident". I now have my chapter headings. There are moments when I feel clever, or at least make a futile attempt at doing so, and the chapter headings are worked into the prose of the chapter.

I keep working on my outline until I get something solid. Once I have a solid idea of what I’m doing, I can choose to either have a three or a five-act structure, or a seven-point story layout. The seven-point construction is my normal go to for the way I enjoy storytelling.

Seven-Point Story Structure:

Hook: The initial event or element that draws the reader into the story.

First Plot Point: The inciting incident that sets the plot in motion.

First Pinch Point: A major obstacle or challenge that the protagonist faces.

Midpoint: A turning point in the story where the protagonist's situation changes significantly.

Second Pinch Point: Another major obstacle or challenge that the protagonist faces.

Second Plot Point: A significant event that further advances the plot.

Resolution: The final outcome of the story, where the protagonist's journey concludes.

Oddly enough, for my novellas, I employ the five-act structure to keep the story tight and condensed, ensuring nothing is left to chance in such a short read. My novellas are usually ten chapters at 3,000 words each. Two chapters for the exposition, two for the rising action, two to handle the amazing climax, two for the falling action and the hero to get it together and finally, the last two for the resolution.

Five-Act Structure:

Act 1 (Exposition): Establishes the setting, characters, and the initial situation.

Act 2 (Rising Action): Introduces conflicts and builds tension as the protagonist strives for their goal.

Act 3 (Climax): The point of highest tension and the turning point in the story.

Act 4 (Falling Action): The consequences of the climax and the resolution of minor conflicts.

Act 5 (Resolution): The final outcome of the story, where the protagonist's journey concludes.

Once I have all three pieces together, I start to write. Okay, I start to “type” as almost all of my writings are created from scratch in Write Genre to keep up with word counts and writing goals then transferred to Microsoft Word.

Honestly, and this may shock you, when I go to bed at night, I relax by writing the intro scene to the next chapter in my head. When I wake up, it is the first thing on my mind outside of coffee. I go back over the chapter I wrote the day before, clean up the squishy parts and then start the next pages.

When I get stuck on a plot point or what should happen next, I go grocery shopping. I was picking up peaches yesterday while sniffing fruit for ripeness and yelled “I got it!” The woman in the store next to me yelled back, “whatchu got!”

This is my writing process. I have tons of “series bibles” for each series I write which includes everything from floor plans to neighborhood maps.

My Depositphotos account is loaded with images of my characters. I usually choose my characters based on the idea of have and how many alternative poses I can get in the series. The description of the characters is based on the images I have purchased for uses. I wrote Passion Fruit based on this image I saw of the photo of who I chose to be my Helen.

So, if you are having difficulty writing, simply get started. At least if you start your writing assignment you will have less to do later and you will no longer feel as if your undone article is some sort of an albatross around your neck.

Now get started.

I really wanted to use the Fruits of the Great Lakes to take the readers behind the scenes into the lives of the Technicians. The connections, how they came to be, and in this instance, how one is created. All the other technicians, are technically trained by the government as either law enforcement or former military. I thought, what if, we have one that is made, based on her natural ability, once it is honed. I created Helen, The Cranberry. And you are loving our girl. From our labs to you, we thank you!

Simple. Clean. Yum.

In this simple bowl is protein, fat, and fiber. It is filling and very healthy.

Coming Soon

Thom Brown had a plan: host a jazz fest, meet his bride, start fresh.

But when the 9:04 rolled into Alton after years of silence…

Everything changed.

💕 Miles. Alton & The 9:04 → https://amzn.to/4jpH7Cf

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Get the Cup https://amzn.to/3Z5PRX6

Get the Die https://amzn.to/3Suy0VV

Score the Notebook https://amzn.to/3SuGLPS

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