Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Cynthia Breeding | Plotting a Full-length Novel
Author Guest / September 2, 2016

Rogue of the Moors (Samhain Publishing) was released August 31. This will be my fifteenth full-length novel. I thought it would be interesting to share how I plot a story. I hope you find this useful! Cynthia Breeding Facts: 350 page novel= 90,000 words=20 chapters=4/5 scenes (3-5 pages long). Need: 20 index cards (5” by 8”) Label each card upper right corner with “Chapter One”, “Chapter Two” etc. Top Line: write out the main purpose for this chapter (what is it about?) Every 3rd line: write “Scene One”, “Scene Two” etc. Jot down what action will take place in each scene. Use only one character’s Point-of-View (POV) in each scene. Analysis Situation: What is the problem/conflict going to be? When/where does it take place? Main Character/Protagonist: Goal: How is he/she going to fix the problem? Barriers to fixing problem: Internal/personal barriers (either physical or emotional) External barriers (people, nature, supernatural) Antagonist (outside force): Purpose: What motivation to keep protagonist from reaching goal? Action: What will the antagonist do to keep protagonist from being successful? Sub-plots: (secondary story-line that interconnects with main plot/characters—optional inclusion) Black Moment: When protagonist appears about to lose everything Ending: How will story conclude? Example: CAMELOT’S DESTINY…

Jodi Thomas | The Power of Love
Author Guest / September 2, 2016

For those of you who love a good love story SUNRISE CROSSING is the book for you. I’d plan to write two stories, both based on the idea that sometimes the perfect mate for someone isn’t who they think it might be. But, then, another couple came along. Maybe because I love reading happy endings, but this book was so fun to write. I believe in love, the kind that lasts a lifetime. My grandfather met my grandmother at a barn raising. She was fifteen and he was seventeen. They wrote letters back and forth for a year, then the next spring he drove a buckboard back to her place and married her that day. They were married 64 years and their children say they never saw them argue. It may not always work out that way in real life, but I like to think it should in fiction. When a reader picks up one of my books, I want them to feel like they’ve walked into a town and lived there for a while. And when they turn the last page and close the book, I want them to smile and know they’ll be welcome back for another visit…