Successes and Failures: Feedback From 2015

Last year I mapped out the 10 Goals and Objectives for 2015. Here are the results of those:


Start Graduate School 

I started my first class on January 12, 2015 and I have 3 more classes to complete my Masters in Communications. I will finish this Summer.


Advance My Career 

I feel like I’m getting much more exposure to the tasks which build upon my skills, so consider this a huge advancement. It helps to let your boss know what your expectations are, even if it is to advance into another field. We can’t all stay rooted in the technical trenches forever.


Outline My Memoir 

I’ve decided I’m not as interesting as I would need to be in order to produce a successful memoir. Therefore, I’m working on becoming more interesting first. We’ll leave this one alone for now. I hope I don't scare off too many people.


Attend a Writing Retreat 

Where the hell did I think I was going to find the time to do this? FAIL.


Attend the Tallahassee Writers Association Conference 

Loved it! Had a blast and plan to attend next year as well.


Attend the Florida Writers Association Conference 

I couldn't attend because it conflicted with travel and prep work for the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C.


Get Back Into Yoga 

Consider this a success because I did get back into Yoga, just didn’t stay consistently going every Sunday. I have other things to do on Sundays. But now that they switched it to Saturdays, I have no more excuses. Oh, wait. School just started back after the holidays!


Take Gourmet Cooking Classes 

I didn't realize how much the classes were and I didn't have anyone to go with me on the days I checked on. Then I realized that I could spend the same amount of money experimenting in my own home and I don’t have to waste the gas to drive all the way out to Publix. Did I mention I also found a nice man willing to sample the surprises I concoct? Sweet!


Finish My GeekSsentials Website

I finished the design only. Now I just have to get some content together. Isn’t this the same problem I have had with doing websites for others? I always complained that they never give me any content. Well, look at me now.


Institute Mom's Night Out 

It never works out as planned. I think spontaneity is better. Just don't pop in on me while I'm cooking up a surprise. You might walk into a disaster area!


Well now, I'm not going to ask you to embarrass yourself by sharing your failed New Year Goals from 2015. Wait, yes I am.

So, spill it! Any failures you want to share?






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No More Resolutions - Make New Year Goals

Two years ago I listed 5 Stupid New Year Resolutions. I've since read back through these to get a deeper understanding of why they don't work.

Each of the resolutions I mention are huge commitments, sacrifices you make "up front" which do not produce immediate results. So, rather than making one stupid resolution, I'm setting 10 goals for 2015, and here they are!


Start Graduate School

Okay, so I cheated. This one was already in progress because I had to get accepted first, which happened in November. My first class starts January 12th in the new year. I am officially a graduate student at Purdue University working toward a Masters in Communications.  I am humbled to have been accepted!


Advance My Career

Notice I didn't title this "Get a Promotion" or "Get Another Job." This is because achieving a goal should be at the control of the person establishing the goal. I cannot control getting a promotion or being hired at another organization. What I can control are the things I do in order to elevate myself so I am perceived to be the cream of the crop. Helloooooo out there! Here I am!! Another option in career advancement could be starting a business.


Outline My Memoir

But Diane, you're only...oh, never mind. You ARE old enough. You know what? Fuck off.


Attend a Writing Retreat

For all of you who have done this already, I ENVY you! I can see myself in the mountains somewhere, sitting at a bay window in a log cabin and sipping a cherry vanilla espresso. Who am I kidding though? I'll just be some washed up romantic with writer's block. Oh well, I guess a day on the slopes, hot soup, and a blazing fire will get me in the mood to write. Who's with me?!


Attend the Tallahassee Writers Association Conference

I haven't missed one since becoming a member and I know why. This is the mother of all conferences, so if you have even the slightest interest in writing, YOU. MUST. ATTEND. THIS. EVENT. Period.


Attend the Florida Writers Association Conference

This is the best excuse for making a trip to Lake Mary in October. I wish I hadn't missed it this year, but I had to support Tim's run in the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. I will not be missing this event in 2015, the entire event, not just one of the days.


Get Back Into Yoga

This is not like joining the gym. Embarrassing enough, I already am a member and this is a free activity provided twice per week. Why did I stop going? Because, I couldn't keep Tim from giggling because he couldn't contort the way some of the 90 year old men in the class did. I think I can get Chelsey to partner up with me. She might take it more serious than Tim.


Take Gourmet Cooking Classes

The Food Network planted the larva, but now I have a full grown bug driving this desire to blanch, roast, bake, and grill. This will not be a very cost effective journey because I won't eat any of the things I want to cook. Any Guinea pigs out there willing to risk food poisoning? I'll be happy to compile goody baskets.


Finish My GeekSsentials Website

I started this site because I wanted to offer up services to the local Tallahassee area small businesses. I know how difficult it is for businesses to get out there, especially start ups, and word of mouth just isn't going to do it in this economy. With companies having to fork out more in health care costs and penalties, there's much less financial resources going into marketing and promotions. Hello out there! I work with your budget.


Institute Mom's Night Out

A new thing I plan to start with my kids is called Mom's Night Out. That means once per month, one of them has to take me out to dinner, lunch, or a movie. I get to pick up the tab. Hey, what better incentive is there for such a wonderful occasion?

Happy New Year, everyone!


Do you have goals for 2015? Tell us what they are in the comments below!




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Digital Analytics and Your Story

I spent this past Thursday and Friday engrossed in conversations about digital analytics after hearing from top executives at companies like Coca Cola, Cartoon Network, Turner Broadcasting, Facebook, QVC, and many more who have embarked on leveraging big data to drive their businesses. But what do little guys like me want from a conference such as this? I want to understand how to collect, process, and analyze this data as well, but I'm not trying to make money. What I want to do is provide better content, some product that is more targeted to my audience. I discovered big data is useful to anyone with a goal.

For example, if your goal is to sell more books, you need feedback. If you place 10 books on the bookstore shelf and all ten sell in the first week, how do you know producing 10 more of the same book will have a similar result? How will people learn about the success of your book? How do you know your book impacted the readers who purchased it? Book reviews, star ratings, tweets, Facebook likes and mentions, and shares are those things that help today's producers connect with their consumers.

At some point you need to step away from your product that you've been pushing and take a look at what your consumers are telling you. Marketing is fine, but if you're spending all your time, money, and efforts on pushing your product and you don't look at your feedback, you may be making the wrong decisions, or at least experiencing some missed opportunities.

There are some interesting ways these organizations use big data and their executives were passionate about sharing them. Did you know that Instagram is the number one social media platform used in data mining by smaller organizations which are physical attractions? Think about it. Unlike liking something or sharing an article, what do people do when they visit a physical location such as a museum? They take selfies at these locations and post them on Instagram. Hello geolocation data!
:)

I'm sure the Plaza Resort & Spa will appreciate my patronage. 

Think about your goals. Think about how you can utilize digital data. There is a story in the conversations you have when you build that relationship with your consumer. I think what I'm looking for is that story...

How do YOU engage with your audience?



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Backstory - What It Is And Why We Use It

Have you ever read a book that opened with backstory?  What?! You don't know what backstory is? Backstory is anything and everything which happened to a fictional character before the start of the current story.  It's what gives a character depth. Example:

Julia grew up in the mid-western town of Belleville, Texas, where her parents owned a farm. She woke every morning since the age of ten and fed the chickens, milked the cows, and gathered the eggs.

You're probably thinking exactly what I would be thinking if I were reading that opening chapter. "Who is Julia and why do I care that she grew up on a farm?"

This is why backstory should be scaled back in the beginning. Let me know what the story is about first. Get me involved, then tell me a little about this character's backstory and why it fits when the time is right. When you start off with backstory,  I'm thinking, "Oh, great. Now I have to remember something boring. What if I forget this later on? This is too much work!"

Call me a lazy reader if you want, but that's exactly what I am. I had to read in college because I needed to learn in order to get a great G.P.A. Likewise, I read at work because I get paid to do so. 

When I want to read for enjoyment and entertainment, I purchase a book. For my money, I shouldn't have to make my brain work so hard. The story should unfold without any work on my part. Agreed?

Providing birth into your story for your protagonist is not the purpose of backstory. You don’t have to introduce your characters up front. Eventually, we'll want to know more about them, but not until it's time. Get your story started first!

The purpose of backstory is: 

• To show character motivation
• To build the reader/character relationship
• To educate the reader on why this story exists 

I attended a session at the TWA conference and book festival this past May and the presenters, Jamie Morris and Julie Compton, shared with us the seven ways you can introduce backstory. I’m providing samples from my own novel, Precinct 9, to show where each purpose is fulfilled.

Flashback

The rubble from the blast had buried him, leaving only his head and right arm exposed. Kelly had held his hand for hours until the heavy equipment operators arrived. There wasn’t enough time to get him out from under all the concrete boulders and metal beams. Two months after the explosion, she received an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps. They would have been discharged together on the same day.

Dialogue

“What about her father? Where is he?” The words left her lips. He could answer or not, it’s just passing time. 

“Killed in Afghanistan, a year before.” 

When the words sunk in, Kelly looked up and away from the ice cubes dancing in her glass. It was a slap so hard she thought she’d not be able to speak again. She placed the drink onto the captain’s desk. “I’m sorry to hear that, sir. I wouldn’t have asked.” What else could she say? Her throat constricted and she thought better of saying anything more, but she did. “I didn’t know.” 

“Goes without saying, Kelly.” Hearing her name come from his lips unnerved her. Up until then it was either Cooper or Sergeant Cooper.  

He continued on as if cued by some unknown force, “Elizabeth was a single mother for over two years. When I came back without him, I had to fill that role.” 

“You were there?” She asked, but it was more an affirmation. Word from other officers was he’d served in Afghanistan, but nobody was certain when or why he left the military.
 

“I was.” Captain Elliot pulled the bottle to his lips and took in two swallows of the golden brown liquid. 

Uneasiness swept over Kelly when she realized how late it had gotten. “It’s after midnight, Captain. Let me drive you home.”

Narrative

The innocence played out and the pit of her stomach ached. Horrors lurked everywhere in the world today and these children were unaware. They were protected from it. Or did it simply hide for now? Kelly remembered the days where there were no fears; evil did not exist.

Objects

Kelly launched a photo attachment from one message with a subject line “Panama City Beach, Baby!” Two young girls on a beach with the ocean as a backdrop peered back at her sporting peace signs and bright smiles. The message: Wish you were here! The date of the email, two days before Victoria’s murder.

Dreams

Kelly drove home with the Captain’s brief on her mind. She imagined his commanding presence filling a small room full of eager men. “Attention, officers…meet your new Lieutenant.” When the new lieutenant entered the room, it was the captain’s date from earlier this evening, wearing the same provocative red dress. 

A blaring horn pulled Kelly out of her trance, two bright lights heading toward her.

Allusions and Associations

When she secured the door after stepping into her Jeep, she pounded the top of the wheel with her closed fists and placed her head on top of her tensed knuckles. She waited for David’s voice in her head. The red-head master of disaster he’d called her. It was because she was stubborn, he’d said. The only thing that came were her stupid, stupid tears.

The “invisible” 7^th method

“My niece.” He handed Kelly a small glass filled with ice and poured two ounces of Bourbon into it.

She accepted knowing she wouldn’t drink it. “Thank you.” She picked up the small, pewter frame. “She’s adorable.”

How do you deliver your backstory? Do you sprinkle it in when needed, or do you provide an entire chapter to bring the reader up to speed? I prefer the former. Which do you prefer to read?

The Plot Clock by Jamie Morris

This year's TWA conference and book festival was the most beneficial one I've attended. One of the things I'm sharing with you today is the condensed version of The Plot Clock, a system developed by Ms. Jamie Morris.

First, here's a small graphic I created to show how these plot points look in relationship to one another. Each student in the mini class drew this by hand, but you don't want to see my scanned, handwritten version. You really don't. It is sad, really sad.

Note: The inner gray circle is just a reminder that any subplots within your main plot must also follow this circular path of THE PLOT CLOCK.



Act I (The Ordinary World)

Story Start

The story begins at the top of the plot clock and starts the protagonist on the journey while in the ordinary world. The character is developed and living in a world which is comfortable, safe, and familiar. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is in Kansas, conflicted by her daily dealings with family and the evil Mrs. Gulch.

Inciting Incident

Something happens to the protagonist which calls upon them to act and leave behind the ordinary world. They may choose not to act right away; maybe they will question this step and not answer the call.

Either way, they are placed in a position to be aware of this dilemma. Dorothy locks herself in her room over the devastation of Mrs. Gulch taking Toto, a tornado whisks her away, leaving behind her family who had escaped into an underground shelter.

Binding Point

The protagonist is forced into leaving the ordinary world at which point they cannot return, at least not as the same person or via the same route. When Dorothy discovers she's in Oz, there's obviously no turning back. She must move forward to get back home.


Act II (The Special World)

The Special World

The special world will have a look and feel so different from the ordinary world. It should throw the protagonist out of her comfort zone. It's not safe and familiar, not like the ordinary world.

Many things will happen to your main character while in the special world (think of Dorothy meeting the Scarecrow, Tin man, and Cowardly Lion), but the most important things in Act II are exposing weaknesses.

Obstacles 

Exposing weaknesses in your characters makes them more likable. Nobody wants to read about perfect characters. This is an opportunity to test your characters so that when they come back in Acts III and IV, the reader will know from where they came and cheer for them when the time comes.

Low Entry Point

This is when the main character enters the lowest point in the story. It's when they discover things are truly hopeless and life is over as they know it. When Dorothy is told by Oz that he cannot get her home, she is devastated and must return with the evil witch's broom.

In Top Gun, when Maverick's wing man is killed in a freak accident, it's like his whole world changed instantly. The internal change has begun for these characters.


Act III (The Special World continued)

Internal Change

The biggest struggle for the main character happens in this part of the story. They've been tested beyond anything they could ever have imagined. They are desperate. This happens to Maverick in the moment he is declared not responsible for his friend's death, but he still carries demons.

Low Exit Point

The character exits the low point. A story must create change in your character and this change is what gets your character climbing toward the turning point. Your main character will now have obstacles which expose their strengths.

Obstacles

Exposing strengths in your characters makes them worthy of success. You can't keep them wallowing in weaknesses. Here is where they've earned their right to be where they are. They're wiser, less fearful, and more heroic in the choices they make. It's what gets them to the Turning Point.


Act IV (The Special World continued)

Turning Point

There is hope for your protagonist! This might come in the form of an anti-climax or it may just continue on with obstacles. I've decided to use it a bit differently in Precinct 9. We'll see how that goes.

This is the part where Maverick has graduated from Top Gun. Things look to be turning for the better and he's come to grips with the death of his friend and the demons left behind of his father's legacy.

Final Battle

Your protagonist must fight the fight of all fights. This is the huge dogfight in the sky for Maverick. It's a big win for him, too. He finally stuck with his wing man and they pull off a successful air battle. Likewise, Dorothy escapes captivity with help from friends and melts the wicked witch.

Denouement

Tie things together, explain things, show the happily ever after. In the romance novel, it's usually the man professing his love and explaining all the reasons why he'd been a complete oaf to her.

In Top Gun, it's when Maverick shows back up at the club where he'd met Charlie, the instructor. Someone plays the song he'd sung to her back then, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling". Dorothy is back in Kansas telling everyone about her dream and how they were all in it.

Do your stories follow The Plot Clock to some extent?

Increase Your Enthusiasm For Writing

There were five of ten shared points I took away from my attendance at the TWA Writers Conference last month. These points have something in common. They keep me enthusiastic about writing; therefore, I'm sharing them with you!

1. Learn something new

Why does this increase your enthusiasm to write? Because, when we learn new things it boosts our confidence and that is something we need as writers in order to allow our creativity to explode onto the screen.

When I was learning Photoshop, I wanted to share my experience, and I did. Likewise, my first digital photos made it into a blog post as well via an embedded sideshow (something else new to me, but I did it and shared it).

2. Make an outline

I never believed this would ever help me, so I never created one, though I kept petering out on every novel I started. I'd get really excited about this story in my head and before I could even pound out a beginning, I'd lost interest. I didn't know where to go when I reached chapter 5. I now have two books with exactly 5 chapters, each sitting in an electronic bookshelf somewhere on my computer. But, now I have an outline, so we'll see if it helps, or if I might just be a lazy procrastinator.

3. Set goals for yourself

Whether it's an hour or 500 words, you must have a daily goal for your writing progress. If not a daily goal, you should at least have a weekly one. I'm one to be the cheerleader for goal setting, right? Here are a few things available to choose from, and I've done them all. The ten minute stream of consciousness is the most fun.

• Stream of consciousness writing (at least 10 minutes non-stop, even if writing non-sense like, "This is stupid, so so so so stupid I can't think of anything to write, oh and you can't spell check or worry about grammar, just WRITE! Can you tell I'm having fun?")
• Word count goal (500, 1000, 2500)
• Chapter per day/week
• Blog post per week
• Daily journal entry

4. Understand your audience

Whether you're writing erotica (*cough* gamers of text based RPGs), YA fiction, or horror, you should know your audience. Not everyone is going to love what you write, but if you know your audience, then you know what they love and you can bring it. I'm a Stephen King fan because he's not shy describing gross things like a half naked woman handcuffed to her bed while a stray dog gnaws at her dead husband's scalp as he lays lifeless on the floor because he had a heart attack in the middle of an S&M session with his wife. [deep breath] Moving along.

5. Reach out for support

Nothing will get you more enthusiastic about writing than reaching out to other writers and sharing your struggles. Believe me! I've been struggling for years, but I'd never be as far as I am if I'd not joined the Tallahassee Writers Association or the Florida Writers Association and met some really awesome writers, authors, editors, and publishers. We are all in the business of loving what we do, so why not share?

How do you keep your enthusiasm to write kicking along at maximum speed? Share your ideas.

Four Levels of Showing and Telling

I loved participating at the Florida Writers Conference this past October. There were so many sessions I wanted to attend, but only one of me!

I would like to share with you one session conducted by Author and Editor, Chris Roerden. This was an amazing session, not because it dealt with showing and telling, but she describes what happens at each of the four levels of showing and telling while describing your characters’ emotions.

In your writing, you can share your character emotions in four ways or what she refers to as four levels. Here they are as described by Ms. Roerden:

1. Telling about emotion

Ms. Roerden didn't actually say this, but I will. This is the most boring way in communicating to your reader the emotions of your characters. You would only do this if you want your story to read like a sports commentator giving you the rundown on how a team responds to losing a game. The coach is not happy! The defensive coordinator is apparently displeased. Tebow is crying now. Wow, what a game!

Really? Can you get any more detached than this? I am not fully serious here. There are times when this is okay, especially when you want to pick up the pace.

2. Telling via description

This is better. At least it's much more refined than the first level. This is where you use the eight senses to tell how your character is feeling by way of describing what they see, hear, taste, smell...etc. Little details help build the description and put your reader where they want to be, "in the scene". Consider this, from Dean Koonzt's From The Corner of His Eye.

Junior shoved Naomi so hard that she was almost lifted off her feet. Her eyes flared wide, and a half-chewed wad of apricot fell from her gaping mouth. She crashed backward into the weak section of railing. 

For an instant, Junior thought the railing might hold, but the pickets splintered, the handrail cracked, and Naomi pitched backward off the view deck, in a clatter of rotting wood. She was so surprised that she didn’t begin to scream until she must have been a third of the way through her long fall. 

Junior didn’t hear her hit bottom, but the abrupt cessation of the scream confirmed impact.

It's as if you are standing there watching this happen, isn't it? I like this a lot. It's not that I want an entire story told in such a manner. We all need a break from the excitement, so we turn the page and listen to the commentator again. Wow, our guy there must have been really mad at Naomi to have shoved her off the deck like that, huh? And did you see that? She looked surprised.


3. Showing via character perception

You can show your character perceptions with the use of metaphors and symbolisms.

Her voice made me cringe like the sound of a cat sliding down a chalkboard. 

Her mouth vacuumed up the last morsels on her plate. 

Now, her mouth isn't a vacuum, but with the use of her mouth in this manner, you can actually see her slumped over the plate, moving along the flat surface, and sucking up the crumbs as if it were a vacuum cleaner. That's descriptive considering you've only used a few words. Be careful with this as you may start to see your writing become somewhat animated, and that's not good, unless you're writing for the sake of comedy.

4. Showing via visceral feelings

According to Roerden, you don't want to do this very often. Too much of a good thing can wear your readers down. This is a technique where you convey the feelings of your characters through their primal responses to survival.

Her stomach froze and the sweat poured from her temples. The pounding of her heart reached her ears and pulsed like an air pump.

These are internal observations of your characters and are not things they witness externally. The feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize your child has gone missing is called a visceral response.

Don't do too much of this to your readers. They'll start to think you're a sadistic psycho.

Anyway, this hour-long session with Ms. Roerden was superb. I enjoyed her passion for what she does and I hope to attend more of her sessions in the future.

Creating Strong Chapters

I had an opportunity to attend the FloridaWriters Association conference in Orlando, Florida this year and I had the best time. Meeting other writers, some published, some not, made me feel so at home. I found myself selecting sessions which intrigued me, looking for that next morsel of knowledge which makes it all come together in this mystical journey toward weaving the ultimate tale.

Here are some tidbits we gained about creating strong chapters. I think we already know these things, but have we seen them in a list, jumping off a page, or passionately lectured at a writing conference? I am not sure, but I will share it here. This was such a refresher and I was enthusiastic when I sat down to map out chapters six and seven!

Before you start your next chapter, ask yourself these questions and then proceed. Keep in mind, each character needs to have a goal, a desire for a favorable outcome.

These were questions asked in our session: How to Structure Your Fiction by Janice Decker

Who will be in this chapter and what are their goals/desires?

You will obviously have your protagonist or POV character, along with other known characters and characters you wish to introduce. List them and their goals. Every character in your chapter must have a desire or else why are they here? When every character has a goal, go to the next question.

What is each character's physical, emotional, and psychological state coming into the chapter?

The reader needs to know this so that when the story unfolds, there is a transformation which happens while you write your chapter. By knowing this information, you are able to write a natural story line and make your fiction more believable. Readers relate to your characters' emotions and psychological makeup, so long as they are believable, you can let the fiction flow!

Where do you want each of your characters to be with respect to their physical, emotional, and psychological state when the chapter ends?

If you know character A is anxious because she suspects her husband of cheating on her, then she cannot be anxious when the chapter ends. She will either be relieved to have discovered she was wrong, or she will be distraught to discover she was right. Either way, there has to be a change by the end of the chapter. If there is no distinctive difference, then your characters will come across as flat and your chapter a dud!

With all three questions answered, you will be able to move from point A (beginning of chapter) to point B (ending of chapter), keeping your chapter tight and strong. That was the lesson and I plan to put it to use from here on out. Thank you, Janice Decker!

J is For Just Do IT!

Anticipation of the Writers Conference in Orlando, Florida this weekend inspires this post. The Florida Writers Association is organizing the event and I am super excited about attending. It was an extraordinary learning experience last year and well worth the cost. I am sure to absorb loads of material with which to share when I return. If you are unable to attend, please consider attending the TWA conference next May in Tallahassee, Florida.

Why the title "J is For Just Do It"? Because J was the next letter. Seriously, because that is the message I want you to take away after reading this post.

Two years ago, I made the decision to do something about my desire to write on a more serious level. Sure, I had written stories throughout the past 10 years, but I had never considered sharing my interest. I called it an interest because many years ago, that is exactly what it was. Today, that is not the case anymore. My writing has more meaning to me. It has been a base from which I have grown and developed a sense of identity and this growth has helped me discover things important in my life.

Writing seems to have an emotionally soothing appeal for me. My husband calls it self-medication. Whatever it is, wherever it may take you, if you love to write, don't let anyone stop you. It will bring meaning to your life and it will gain you an insight into the world around you, which you might otherwise miss.

Just do it. Write your future!

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I Learned The 6 Cs From Steve Berry

I attended the Tallahassee Writer's Association Conference yesterday and our Keynote Speaker was Steve Berry. Fascinating as it was, I attended his next session where he shared a very condensed subject matter which is included in his workshops for the History Matters Foundation. Since I've already plotted my story, I've used his 6 Cs to determine if I have a complete story and one any reader would enjoy.

1. Character - Do I have a character people will cheer for? Is she vulnerable enough to capture the hearts of my readers? I hope so.
2. Crucible - What is forcing my character to react to her environment in ways not normal for her? What drives her behaviors? She has a past which haunts her and until she completes her journey through her crisis, her soul will not rest. This is a bit cliche, but who hasn't done this before? I give this a little twist though. 
3. Conflict - Is there conflict in my story? There is conflict in every chapter of my story, including the first few pages, emotional and physical.
4. Complexity - Are there obstacles preventing your character from reaching her goals? I have almost 50 plot points, so I hope it's enough complexity.
5. Crisis - Do all major obstacles come to one point in time where they meet head on? Yes! It's crunch time for my character. She steps over that threshold and makes the ultimate sacrifice, one she never could have made had she not made this journey. The crisis in Top Gun was the huge dog fight over the Pacific Ocean. The obstacles: Maverick's ego, the haunting from his best friend's death, his fight to discipline himself and adhere to the rules and procedures learned at the Top Gun Academy.
6. Conclusion - This is the denouement. The ending where everything comes together and all questions are answered. I have that in my story. The conclusion in Top Gun was Maverick finding Charlie Blackwood in the bar where they met and played the song he sang to her back then, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling."

I'll leave on a note: The conclusion in a Romance Novel is the answer to the question "Does he get the girl?" In which case for a Romance Novel, the answer is always YES!

Check out your next project and tell us if they include these 6 "C" words.

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