Happy New Year!

Well, here we are...back at the blog!

In the past few weeks, we've examined our lives and hopefully set some great goals for 2012.

So where does that leave us in today's blog?

Well...

I  read something for someone over the weekend that kind of made me shudder. I would have loved to have been able to email the author and say...Hey, have you ever thought of writing out your story idea in one paragraph? I think if you'd do that you'd see the inconsistencies of your story.

But for a couple of reasons, which will remain my little secret, I couldn't do that.

Still, it made me go to my office, close the non-existent door [if my husband read my blog that would be a hint to him] and write out a one-paragraph statement of the book that I'm working on just to make sure I'm on track.

I'd written a one-paragraph statement before I started writing. But now that I'm almost done with the book, my vision had shifted and changed bit. So I wrote a new one...

Who are these people?
What do they want?
Why don't they have it?
What do they have to learn to get it?

And I went back to my book with a clear understanding of what I needed to write next.

Sometimes setting your story straight can be as simple as answering those four questions.

So who are your characters?
What do they want?
Why don't they have it?
What will they have to learn to get it?

Clear that up in your head today and go into your WIP with a fresh brain! No clutter. No muss. No fuss. Just what's really going on in your book!

When you answer those four questions, you get right to the heart of your story. You stop piddling around with things that don't matter or don't count. And you begin writing with purpose.


Happy Monday!

susan