How do you go about discovering or creating the plot for your novels? Do you have a plot in mind before you start writing? Does the storyline miraculously develop as you\u2019re writing? Does your plot change numerous times before you\u2019re finished writing? In my world, it\u2019s a mix of all three.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, I finally fleshed out the basic plot for my latest cozy mystery (number 6). I had one in mind, but it needed struts\u2014you know, something solid to build from. After working on this book for a couple of weeks, not knowing for sure where the plot would take the reader, I got up at 2 yesterday morning and had it figured out before lunch. (I took two naps yesterday afternoon.)<\/p>\n
Does the story work now? Not quite. There are still many questions that need to be addressed, issues that are out of place, inconsistencies, improbabilities\u2026 But these are the things I\u2019ll conquer in the next several go-arounds.<\/p>\n
Is Cheryl\u2019s character believable? Would Savannah actually react that way in this situation? Should I give Michael more to do in this story? And what about Rags (the cat)? Do I include him enough to satisfy and delight my readers who choose my books because of the cat action? Is it time for another wedding? Have I caused readers to care enough about this couple for a wedding announcement to matter to them? Is the activity around the crime tame enough for a cozy, but gnarly enough to generate excitement\u2014to evoke emotion?<\/p>\n
Those of you who write fiction already feel that sense of responsibility to their readers. Those who don\u2019t might be surprised at how seriously novelists take their stories and how much we focus on the end reader. Do you know who helps us to write a better story\u2014to stay true to our readers? It\u2019s the reviewers. Any novelist worth her (or his) words will listen to peer and professional reviewers.<\/p>\n
Sure, some comments are downright ridiculous (\u201cYou used too many single-syllable words,\u201d \u201cThe dog\u2019s name is stupid\u2026\u201d). It\u2019s our job to weed through comments by mean-spirited people and those who got up on the wrong side of the bed the day they read your book. But the author who does not pay some attention to comments from reviewers is the author who might not experience the level of success they desire.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m Patricia Fry. I write nonfiction books for authors and a series of cozies with cats called the Klepto Cat Mysteries. All five of my mysteries are on Kindle at $2.99 and three of them are also available in print. That\u2019s Catnapped, Cat-Eye Witness<\/i> and\u00a0 Sleight of Paw<\/i>.<\/p>\n
I would love hearing how you work out the plots for your stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How do you go about discovering or creating the plot for your novels? Do you have a plot in mind before you start writing? Does the storyline miraculously develop as you\u2019re writing? Does your plot change numerous times before you\u2019re finished writing? In my world, it\u2019s a mix of all three. Yesterday, I finally fleshed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t