What We Do by Gail Pallotta

Writing is hard work, a challenge. Getting from one end of a book to the other sometimes seems like walking through a maze, especially when one is a pantzer at heart. However, even pantzers need a skeleton outline to follow. Once at a conference I heard James Scott Bell sum up his workshop on plotting by saying something along the lines of the following. I can’t recall his exact words, but the gist of it was: Remember, just when you work things out, here comes trouble. Work that out, and here comes more trouble.

And layer. A good book needs more than one problem going on at a time. Say the book’s a romantic mystery. Perhaps someone finds a dead body, so there’s a murder to solve, but that isn’t enough. If the two people trying to crack the case are attracted to each other, they can have a falling out and need to work through their ups and downs to find happiness in the end. If one of them deals with a personal problem, such as a fear of commitment or an abusive past, finding an answer adds to the plot. If we want to raise the stakes, we could give one of them a stalker, and let that person fear for his or her life. Also, let it be unclear if the stalker has anything to do with the murder. Throw in one of them facing a job loss, and we’ve probably gotten the reader’s attention. Then we only need to tie up the loose ends in an interesting way that satisfies the reader. Maybe I exaggerated, but that’s the idea.

Sometimes when I’m having trouble getting a plot as it should be and making my characters act in fascinating ways, I complain to my husband about how much I regret I have no talent for bookkeeping or another profession that’s exact. He always says, “But that’s what you do.” Those of us who fall into that category must keep writing, learning and adapting to the trends because that’s what we do. 

 

Getting from one end of a book to the other sometimes seems like walking through a maze, especially when one is a pantzer at heart. via @Hopefulwords #SeriouslyWrite

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Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A former Grace Awards Finalist and a Reader’s Favorite 2017 Book Award winner, she’s published six books, poems, short stories and two-hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. She loves to connect with readers.

Connections:

Amazon page - https://www.amazon.com/Gail-Pallotta/e/B00IN9A640

Website - https://www.gailpallotta.com

Blog - https://gailpallotta.blogspot.com

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore

twitter - https://twitter.com/Hopefulwords (Gail Pallotta @Hopefulwords)

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gail-pallotta-b368b220/