Writing A Synopsis

If there's one thing authors hate writing, it's synopses. What is it about these things that is so difficult?

Just before the ACFW conference, my agent encouraged me to develop my book into a series concept, which is an idea I was (and am) very excited about. Problem? I haven't written the other two books. Sure, I had some ideas floating around in my head that I was excited about, but ideas and outlines are two very different things.


So I started researching online for synopsis tips and tricks. And I kept coming across these things: 1) The synopsis is dreaded.  2) All writers hate synopses. 3) Your synopsis will probably be awful writing. Just expect it.

Uh, anyone else not okay with that idea? Let's just throw in the towel before we even give it a try, shall we?

You wouldn't think it would be that hard. I mean, it's only a couple pages. I can see all sorts of areas for improvement in other authors' synopses, so I should also be able to see the same weaknesses in my own, right? Wrong.

In the past few months, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that synopses really are challenging. But they don't have to be dreaded. See, the thing about synopses that's so cool is that they offer you something very powerful, and that is a big picture approach for your book before you even write it. If you can write a well-organized, thoughtful synopsis of your story, writing your book is going to be that much easier because you'll be able to stay focused.

Today I'm compiling the information I've learned through the process of writing, rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting my synopses again. (By the way, a major shout out to Angie, who read every version of my synopsis and never threatened to ban me from her inbox, but instead offered helpful suggestions each time around!) I hope you find this to be a helpful resource for you as you work on your own synopses, and I hope it helps take a little bit of the terror out of the processes. I've adapted many of these concepts from Cami Tang's synopsis worksheet, from MBT resources, and just from my own general reactions of disgust when I realized something was really, really not working for my plot.

• The Plot Level

• External goal. Your protagonist's external goal needs to be very clear, very early on. Preferably even the first paragraph. Editors like to see that this girl knows where she's going and what she wants. This is so important because it helps pave the way for the obstacles she is going to encounter along the way.
• The inciting incident. Usually this is going to come in you first or second paragraph. What incident throws your protagonist into the story? Loss of her job? A sudden move across the country? A scratch-off lotto win? The realization she's a princess? (Sorry, couldn't resist. Who doesn't love Princess Mia?)
• Obstacles. Include two or three external obstacles that keep your heroine from reaching her goal. These need to be believable, legitimate, and clear. "She ran out of Godiva truffles and missed an important meeting because she had to go to the grocery store for more" is probably not a very good obstacle, although we can all sympathize.
• Black Moment. How does it all come crashing down? This could be one of your obstacles.
• Resolution. Be sure you show us how the plot threads connect to bring us to the ending.

• Emotional Level

• Dark moment. What moment from your character's past is holding them back? This moment should shape some kind of fear or apprehension that fights against (or perhaps further compels) their push toward their external plot goal.
• Desire. Your character needs an emotional desire that will give her motivation to climb her way past the obstacles you put in her way. In a romance, your character likely is going to desire love, yet hold herself back from a relationship with the hero because ________. This reason will relate to the dark moment, so that the desire and the resistance create a push/pull effect that draws in your reader. Also, you can relate your character's emotional desire to their desire to accomplish an external goal, thus tying together the plot and emotional threads.
• Black moment. In the same way that the black moment causes the external goal to fall apart, the black moment should also (seem to) confirm your heroine's greatest fear, thus positioning her to find the strength to conquer that fear and attain the goal (or not, but at least find closure in the process).
• Resolution. The emotional level must be resolved. Even if you don't allow the character to reach their external goal, unless you're writing literary fiction, your character should attain her emotional goal. Otherwise, readers are going to be very mad.

• Spiritual Level

• Lie. Your character needs to believe a lie throughout the book, not only about herself (i.e. she's safer not risking her heart in a relationship), but also about her faith/God. The emotional level and spiritual level can relate to each other, but they both must be clear. If you're going to sell to a CBA publisher, they are going to want to see some sort of faith journey depicted in the book. And really, isn't that why we as CBA writers have chosen to write for CBA? We should take advantage of this privilege and include the spiritual arc in our characters' journeys.
• Obstacles. Just like the plot obstacles should show setbacks and growth within the character's emotional arc, these obstacles should impact her spiritual arc as well. You want to confirm her worst fear, then force her to face it and help her get beyond it. You can utilize your external goal and obstacles to really play around with the emotional and spiritual stakes and journey. If you get stuck, think about your own life. You might think you would never face ___________, but what if you could find love, youth, or a free trip to Hawaii on the other side of that obstacle? Brainstorm some motivations that would be strong enough (on the plot level) to force your characters out of their comfort zones. 
• Healing. This is where the bring-you-to-tears moment comes in if you play your cards right. After your character goes through those obstacles--and once again, they need to be challenging, difficult obstacles--we will respect her for her strength, dignity, and courage for how she faced these challenges head on (even if not perfectly) on her quest toward her external goal. Throughout this process, God is working on her heart more and more, until finally she finds a breakthrough. The light through the clouds. Spiritual epiphany. It's really important that you include this moment of hope and spiritual healing in your synopsis so that whoever is reading your synopsis is clear about the spiritual takeaway readers will get from your story.

A few notes...

You'll want to include these elements for each of your primary characters. So if it's a romance, we'll need to see a basic plot, emotional, and spiritual arc for your hero as well as your heroine, although you'll probably want to spend more time with the heroine.

Remember to include your voice in your synopsis. You may want to write a draft where you just focus on getting all the elements in, then revise it with your own dazzle. But however you go about it, make sure the writing really shines, because this is the first taste an editor or agent has of your writing style. If you can hook them with your voice in the synopsis, then you've really accomplished something.

Try, as best you can, to play these elements off each other, so that your main characters' lies, for instance, cause problems with each other. In my most recent book, my heroine is afraid of abandonment, and my hero is afraid of being a failure/letting down the woman he loves. I'll leave you to guess what he does, and how that affects her. Try to find a way that the characters' black moments play into each other, and your story will be stronger from that irony.

Have fun! Yes, I know what you're thinking. No way is that going to happen. But all too often, we listen to all the negative buzz about synopses... they're dreaded, they're hard, and they are going to be awful. Don't adopt that defeatist perspective. Sure, brainstorming can be frustrating, but it's so rewarding to have a big picture version of your story before you've even started writing it.

Take these sections a little at a time. This is advice I am giving you from experience. It is all too easy to take on too much at once, but you'll end up frustrated. Let the ideas come to you naturally. Go to a coffee shop and eavesdrop. Imagine possibilities. Talk to your characters out loud. Pray about your characters' struggles and stories. Seek the help of those with fresh perspectives, like critique partners, mentors, and friends. When you open your mind to creative possibilities, you'll find that the ideas flow much more easily.

Have you ever written a synopsis? What did you learn through the process? What do you think is the hardest thing about writing synopses?

Three Big Takeaways from the My Book Therapy Storycrafters Retreat: Guest Post by Lindsay Harrel

I love Lindsay Harrel! So when I had the brainstorm to ask her to guest post, I knew exactly what to have her chat to us about...what else, but the My Book Therapy retreat she just attended! Now, before you join me and turn bright green with envy, this post is LIKE attending one of Susie's retreats it is so thorough. So kick back, avoid those black Friday shoppers and get to know Lindsay bit better... :-))

A few months ago, I received my first agent rejection letter. The agent said that while she liked my writing, my story and plot were not unique enough.

After a trip to Dairy Queen and about two days spent doing anything but writing (ha!), I sat down to examine what the agent had said. And you know what? She was right.

So I set out to correct my deficiency in plot and structure. I’ve been a member of My Book Therapy—an organization founded by award-winning author Susan May Warren that focuses on teaching the craft of writing—for nearly a year, but had yet to attend any of the group’s writing retreats.

I decided to change that. Last month, I attended the MBT Storycrafters Retreat in Minnesota.

Changed. My. Life. (And writing!)

The retreat was small, only about 10–15 people, and that meant I received individual attention from Susie. That woman is amazing and just so called to be a teacher. She truly cares about each person there and brainstorms like you wouldn’t believe.

At the retreat, Susie goes through the very basics of building a plot from the ground up. There is so much information crammed into your head over 48 hours, but it is all so valuable. You actually come away with a fleshed out story idea and your first scene written.

I thought I’d share with you some key points I took away from the weekend:

Character sheets aren’t enough.

Before I joined MBT, I used character sheets to get to know my characters. You know, the ones with details about what kind of car your character (we’ll call her Tina) drives, her dog’s name, and her favorite color. While those details can be important and very telling of Tina’s character and who she is, they by no means are enough.

Instead, think about what event in your character’s past (called the Dark Moment) shaped her. Make it one specific event. That event then leads to the Lie She Believes. For example, in my current work in progress, my main character Stacy’s mom broke a promise, one that leads to the death of Stacy’s dream. The lie she believes is that no one can be trusted—that you have to do everything yourself.

The lie leads to the Greatest Fear, which comes true in the Black Moment, or the big event toward the end of the novel when all heck breaks loose and the lie seems true.

See how all of these things tell us much more about a character than the car she drives? In order to figure some of these out, Susie suggested delving deeper by interviewing your character.

Storyworld can make or break a scene.

Storyworld is that all-encompassing something about a scene that puts us there and practically makes the setting like another character. I have always included little details into my scene to accomplish this, but I don’t think I was doing enough of it. Susie suggested brainstorming the following basics just before writing a scene. Spend about 10–20 minutes doing this and it will make you much more in tune with your setting and what’s going on in your scene (even pantsers can do this!):

Ask the five W's.

·         Who: What's the POV character's emotional state in 1-2 words?

·         What: What is going on around the character? What is the character actually doing in the scene? (This last question really helped me because my scenes were previously filled with lots of smiling, nodding, fists clenching, etc. Susie said to give your characters something to actually do, like peel potatoes, get ready for a party, etc.)

·         Where: Physical location, but also what is significant about this place to the character?

·         When: Time of day, time of year, etc.

·         Why: Why is the character here?

Add in the five senses.

·         Close your eyes and pretend like you're there. What do you hear?

·         What do you smell? Be as specific as you can, even giving analogies here.

·         What do you see? Pull out little significant details.

·         Taste can be a feeling (like tasting guilt or regret) or an actual taste.

·         You should only use significant touches.

I wrote a new scene at Storycrafters and sent it to my critique partner. She told me it was the best scene of mine she’s ever read because the storyworld was so vibrant and alive.

So yeah, guess it makes a difference.

First lines should put us in the character’s head.

The first line—and I’m talking about the first line of each scene, not just of the entire book—is responsible for drawing our readers in. Because of that, we want them to be powerful. Strong.

We also want them to get us in the POV character’s head.

A great trick Susie taught at the retreat was this: When you’re brainstorming your scene, close your eyes and embody your character. You’ve already thought about where she is, what she’s doing, and what else is going on around her. Now, what is she thinking? What thought is running through her mind?

That is your first line.

An example from the scene I developed at Storycrafters (technically two lines, but you get the picture):

“How had it come to this, singing in a backwoods joint that felt more like a prison courtyard than the concert hall of Kacie’s dreams? Yeah, the Lizard Lounge was definitely a far cry from the Grand Ol’ Opry.”

Your Turn: Have you ever been to a writing retreat? What takeaways did you bring home? If not, what writing tidbits have you been learning lately? Please share!

Since the age of six, when she wrote the riveting tale “How to Eat Mud Pie,” Lindsay Harrel has passionately engaged the written word as a reader, writer, and editor. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and an M.A. in English. In her current day job as a curriculum editor for a local university, Lindsay helps others improve their work and hones her skills for her night job—writing inspirational contemporary fiction. Lindsay lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband of six years and two golden retriever puppies in serious need of training.

Blog: http://lindsayharrel.blogspot.com/   

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LindsayHarrel  

Twitter: @Lindsay Harrel: https://twitter.com/LindsayHarrel

The Swell To A Black Moment

On Flickr by comedy_nose

Swell:  to well up, as a spring or as tears.

We've all written something similar to: 

Her throat tightens, the well of tears threatens to burst. A single tear escapes, and then another, until she can't stop the sobbing, can't contain the flood within her.

It's gradual, it builds, it culminates in a sudden burst. The emotion swells in the character until it overflows in their reaction.


We can apply this character study to our actual swell toward the black moment of our story. A black moment is when all is lost, when the bubble bursts, the sobbing brings forth the flood of tears. As we write the very first word of Chapter One, we must have a black moment in mind so our writing becomes "purpose-driven". Our characters, circumstances, symbolism, all culminate toward that black moment...for optimal BURST!

 If we don't build up the stakes, give the reader strong lungs to expand the bubble, imagery to provide the force that breaks the dam, our black moment might deflate like a balloon with a pin-size hole-- slow and weakly.


Two novels come to mind when I think of excellent weaving toward a purpose-driven black moment. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and She Walks In Beauty by Siri Mitchell. One gives us a good example of a circumstantial burst, while the other gives us an example of a symbolical swell. Both are effective. 

***I will warn you, the black moments revealed may be a spoiler if you haven't read the novels, so read on if you don't mind.***

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: The Circumstantial Burst


As a child, Jane is locked up in a haunted room by her cruel Aunt. The tiny girl must spend the night with the anticipation of evil spirits taunting her and torturing her throughout her stay. This is a turning point for Jane for she is sent off to school shortly after. 

This tiny hook sets up the circumstances Jane encounters as a young woman who works for a strange, troubled man, Mr. Rochester. An attraction begins to weave between the two as Jane aids him during several occasions of being awakened at night by shrilled laughter and evil doings, the very disturbance she feared as a child. The suspense of these episodes culminates to an explosion when Jane's wedding day is ruined by the knowledge that a woman had disturbed them all those nights, and that woman was Jane's fiancee's wife. 
Suspense was successfully woven through out the first part of the book, giving more and more air to fill the balloon, until finally, the burst of the balloon not only released the power of each building circumstance, but stripped away all happiness that Jane had hoped for, thus giving us the black moment.
Did Charlotte Bronte write the first scenes of Jane's childhood with the idea that she would carry on Jane's fearful nights to ones that created "swell" toward a devastating black moment? Maybe, but the swell is there, and successfully done.

She Walks In Beauty by Siri Mitchell: The Symbolical Swell

Clara Carter is entering her debut with much reservation. She is pushed along by her aunt, and suffers the headaches of socializing, and the measures taken for beauty, especially the restrictive corset. 
While she dances away the season, her corset is a constant reminder of the person she's suppose to be (beautiful, reserved, a catch for the most eligible bachelor). She can hardly eat, hardly breath, hardly enjoy anything without fear of fainting. As Clara learns more and more about herself, the corset comes to symbolize her forced identity by her family, holding her back from a future of her choice.

The black moment bursts forth its flood when Clara discovers the death of her mother was actually caused by the health risk of wearing a corset, the very symbol of her family's expectations.


Siri Mitchell's novel takes a physical element and weaves it through the book from the very beginning, revealing its symbolical significance at the black moment. Clara despised the corset, but succumbed to wearing it because it was expected. It was a physical part of debuting in New York at that time. But when we discover the black moment consists of the actual destruction caused by that element, the corset takes on a symbolic quality, the sob that pushes forth the tears of loss for Clara. Her mother's corset was the death of her.

Clara becomes aware that her prison is the corset, and to keep her family's approval, she must follow in their schemes. Any future plans for herself are impossible. Thus, she comes to a crossroads, the black moment brings her to the decision of choosing all she's expected to be, or choosing who she truly is.
 
When I read this novel, I had no idea the corset would become such a central symbol to the black moment of the story. And that is what we want, isn't it? To allow all the little droplets of tears hide within the story until they accumulate and break the dam into a flood of realization for the reader and the character.


Have you considered an effective way to build up to the black moment? Do you swell more with circumstance or symbolism? Can you give us a peek at how you get to your black moments?
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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

 

Creating The Lie

Writers take time to develop their characters. They figure out their history; they give them goals; and they give them obstacles to overcome.There is a lot to character development, but I learned something new recently at My Book Therapy that completely changed the way I look at it.

Character development hinges on The Lie. You see, your hero needs to overcome something in his life. There needs to be some lie he believes that taints every part of his belief system, every action, and every thought process.

Example: In the movie Cinderella, she (Cinderella) believes the lie that she is not worthy of real love or family. She is just the servant, and she does her job while trying to find happiness and purpose in caring for the mice in the house, hopeful that one day she might be raised up as a true daughter.

The Lie must be confirmed by a Dark Moment. There must come a time when the lie your hero believes becomes reality. It is confirmed by circumstance or another characters words. This is the point when your hero resigns himself to the fact that the lie is true and lives accordingly.

Example: Cinderella is told she can attend the king's ball if she gets all her work finished and have something suitable to wear. She will be included with the family at last. Getting her work finished and decked out in a dress made by her animal friends, she joins her step-mother and step-sisters, only to be mauled by the sisters and left in tatters. She is rejected once again. She is not worthy.

The truth is hinted at. Somehow your hero needs to feel a hint of truth in their lives. They must begin to question the lie and wonder at the truth that is hinted at. Using a secondary character to do this is a great way to teach the truth.

Example: Cinderella's fairy godmother shows up and says she only needs one thing to go to the ball and enjoy the festivities. She just needs a dress...and a carriage, and livery, and so on and so on. She is worthy to go to the ball, with or without a family, and the fairy godmother is going to make sure she goes!

Another example is when the prince sends out servants with the glass slipper to find his future bride. He deems her worthy and is searching for her. She is filled with hope and excitement when she learns of this.

The Black Moment brings the Lie back into focus, forcing the hero to choose between believing the lie or choosing the truth. This is the the point of no return. It is the lowest of the lows and brings your hero to a point where he must choose. Does he believe the lie and sink back into his deluded life? Or does he choose to believe the truth, confronting the lie and pushing past it.

Example: When the servant with the glass slipper arrives at Cinderella's door, her step-mother locks her in the tower so that Cinderella couldn't claim the slipper (for the step-mother has discovered Cinderella is the one the prince is searching for). Cinderella could have just cried herself to sleep, resigned to the fact that the prince would eventually find someone who would fit into the slipper and live happily ever after. But no, she decides to fight and find a way to escape. She enlists the help of her mice friends and eventually is freed. In believing the truth that she is worthy, she has the confidence to run down the stairs in her tattered servant clothes and ask to try on the slipper. She is the one. She is worthy. She is now living in the truth.

Every book has a spiritual road, and every hero must travel on it. Whether it is a Christian book or a secular book, there is a spiritual/emotional journey that the characters experience. It is up to the the writer to give the characters the starting place and a final destination.

The Lie is the starting point. It is the basis of the journey, for the character must search for the truth and find it. That is the final destination - the Truth. It really will set them free...and satisfy your reader in the process.

What is the LIE your character believes? Why do they believe it?

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Romance: The calm before the storm.

I've always pictured a romance storyline something like this:


The beginning hook. GOTCHA. I wanna read more!

And it gets worse,

And a little more worse.

And still even more worse.

Until HOLY CRAP, the unthinkable happens.

These characters will NEVER be able to get together now!

But... something happens, and things are redeemed.

They characters kiss and make up.

And life happily ever after!

Now, if you turn your head sideways and look at the above steps... you'll notice that it reminds you of what a story line should look like too when measuring the degree of tension!

BUT.

I
Think
It should
Look a little
more
LIKE THIS RIGHT HERE!
And then it
is done.

Okay, if you're not a visual person (or can't see looking sideways) you're probably really confused.

My point is this.

It's the need for a "calm before the storm" if you will. That moment everything SEEMS to be working swimmingly, but as a reader, you are holding your breath, because you KNOW something just terrible is about to happen.

The calm almost makes the tension of the black moment even bigger.

It's like when your toddler takes a really big, quiet breath, right before he/she issues the loudest scream you've ever heard.

Some movie examples:

Runaway Bride. After Richard and Julia kiss and Richard gets duly punched in the face, they realize they really actually love each other. They kiss some more. They decided to replace the wedding with THEIR wedding. All happy and good right? Scenes of them swinging and reading and preparing for the wedding and everything is all lolly-pops and rainbows. But all the while, you KNOW something bad is gonna happen. You assume it's at the wedding, but you don't know when for sure. Even though everything seems like it is fantastic, the tension of "when is the bomb gonna drop" keeps you watching and eating your popcorn, crying, "Don't run, Julia! Richard is a HUNK! Just do it!"

Of course, she runs. He chases her. Thus, the black moment.

The Proposal. Mean heroine (anyone who says you MUST have a likeable heroine at the beginning, watch this movie!) and good guy, fake engagement in order for her to not be deported. They hate each other, but are forced to vacation together in Alaska at his parents house. They still think they hate each other, but inside each of them starts to fall for the other. And then the fake wedding comes, and by then, you can tell they are in love. Fake or not, they are getting married! No deportation, they can finally admit their feelings, and they are married, so WOOHOO. But that's too easy. And as she walks down the aisle, we're all thinking, "what's gonna happen? What's gonna stop this? It CAN'T be this easy!" Then she turns around, and the rest, you have to watch the movie to find out!


Some book examples:

Well, here is the thing. There are a ton of them. So, I thought I'd let YOU share some of your favorite calms before the storms from books you've read. Can you pick any out?

Thirty, Flirty, and Plot-Building

I don't write romantic comedies...but I absolutely LOVE watching them (and reading my crit partner's fabulous novels in this genre). So let's delve into one of my faves, 13 Going On 30. I am dancing in my seat right now just thinking about the eighties-inspired soundtrack. If only novels came with soundtracks. ;)
13 Going On 30 has tons of great nuggets for life (it's even a movie used in the Bible study, Chick Flicks, Dinner and A Movie...I highly recommend it for a fun girl's night), and writing...which of course is what I will focus on.

For those of you who haven't seen this movie, a thirteen year old girl, Jenna, strives to fit into the popular “six chicks” against the advice of her slightly odd best friend, Matty. Matt is a sweet, non-conformist kind of guy, even building Jenna a customized dream house for her birthday. But Jenna is easily sidetracked from her sweet moments with this sensitive guy, and desperately tries to impress the popular crowd who have no interest in eager Jenna, and disappoint her again and again. Jenna finds herself longing to speed up time and become Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving... like the beautiful model in her fave magazine, Poise.
So with a little bit of magic dust from her homemade dream house (hey, it's Hollywood), Jenna wakes up exactly like she wanted,

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving.

Through the course of her transforming morning, she realizes she got everything she wanted...A high school career as a “Six chick”, homecoming queen on the arm of Chris Crandy, and working as an assistant editor at Poise.

When she asks the cute grown-up Matt, “What if what I wished for really did come true?”
She takes his advice: “Well then, you got everything you ever wanted, you might as well enjoy it.”
But with all the success, she discovers what kind of person she has become...and she (Jennifer Garner) sums it up nicely when she criticizes a competing magazine's editor:

“You are mean and rude and sloppy and frizzy, I don't like you at all!”

(minus the sloppy and frizzy, she is actually quite a spiffy “stuck in the eighties” kind of dresser) 

The rest of the story is Jenna “re-filling” the shoes of her egotistical, ruthless, deceitful future-self. This movie provides great examples of character growth, the suspense-building plot, and a significant black moment.

Character growth:
The character overcomes challenges externally and internally giving the audience a reason to route for her. Jenna takes on her fast-pace adult life through the eyes of a thirteen year old. She falls for the sweet guy, her best friend Matt, not the most popular hockey player that she's supposedly dating. When she pitches her “redesign” for the magazine, it is a refreshing, soul-searching idea that her boss loves. She chisels away the shallow idea of what she wanted in her thirteen year old body, and makes choices that give her audience a reason to hope the best for her in the end.


Suspense-Building Plot:
The guy she is in love with is engaged...will he break it off since he obviously has feelings for her?
The boss loves her idea...will it help change her ruthless reputation and bring success to her magazine?
Her best friend finds some incriminating evidence...will she ruin everything for Jenna?

The Black Moment:
All these questions are answered exactly how we, the sympathetic audience, DO NOT want them to be answered. Everything in Jenna's life crumbles, and she finds herself completely hopeless and alone. We want her to have happiness now, we've seen her work for it, and re-shape her character for it.

From a humorous, light-hearted, slightly unrealistic (okay, greatly unrealistic) comedy, we have a fun visual for the important anatomy of a well-written novel.


Is there some character tweaking, or plot building that you can do to enhance the climax in your book?