Wet Noodle Posse

Q&A Friday!!!

We've explored some fun topics this week. Now let's switch gears to writing.

What can writers do to improve their stories' turning points?

Writing Turning Points

What drives the plot in a story are the turning points or the places where your main characters make decisions that propel the action forward. If I’ve learned anything along this journey to publication, it’s that a story’s plot must include major and minor turning points if you as a writer want to keep your reader interested and the pace lively. Each scene should have one, and these turning points should build on each other to create the arc of your story. Turning points without connection to anything else stymie the action.

Two writers who explain the concept better than I are Michael Hauge and Jennifer Crusie.

Michael Hauge, who will be conducting a workshop in Atlanta in October 2010 during Georgia Romance Writers’ Moonlight and Magnolias Conference, believes there are five key turning points in a screenplay or novel. They are opportunity, change of plans, point of no return, major setback and climax. See http://www.screenplaymastery.com/structure.htm for a complete discussion.

Jennifer Crusie also provides a wonderful explanation and handout from the 2009 Romance Writers of America conference on her website. http://arghink.com/2009/07/29/turning-points-handout-from-rwa-national

Can you think of any other resources that explain turning points available to writers on the net? What are some books that you’d recommend?

Labels: writing turning points

This Week on the Wet Noodle Posse

We hope the first full week of October has you healthy and happy. In the spirit of the monthly theme To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn, we're blogging on the following topics:

Monday, October 5th: Candy Corn Isn’t What It Used to Be
Tuesday, October 6th: Top Ten Tips for Turning a Pumpkin into a Jack-o-Lantern
Wednesday, October 7th: Hot Buttered Cider
Thursday, October 8th: Writing Turning Points
Friday, October 9th: Q&A: What’s the best reason why unpublished romance authors should enter the Golden Heart?

Labels: candy corn, cider, jack-o-lanterns, writing turning points