My personal notes from: "Plot and Conflict" with Rachel Ann Nunes

(Updated Post: In order to comply with copyright law I have removed anything that was directly taken from the course syllabus and have left only my summarization of the course. I apologize to LDS Storymakers and Rachel Ann Nunes for any conflict of copyright and thank them for their patience.)

On Saturday I attended the LDS Storymakers conference where I was able to learn tips, tricks, and helpful information from published authors within the LDS community. The first class that I attended was on Plot and Conflict which was taught by Rachel Ann Nunes (http://www.ranunes.com/).

Rachel is an award winning author of women's fiction. She has written over 28 books and is most known for her works of her Arianna series, and her award-winning picture book Daughter of a King.


To have a strong, successful story you must focus on plot. Your characters must have a direction, a purpose, conflict and resolution. All this is accomplished through the plot.

Things to keep in mind with plot:
- If you have too many characters in your story the less the reader cares about them. Stick with one or two MAIN characters, then use plot to draw the reader into the characters lives and make them care about what happens to that one or two characters.

Parts to a Plot:
- Main character's conflict -
- The initiation force. Start with a severe event or point of change in the main character's live. (i.e. death of a loved one, change in social position, tragedy).
Complications:
- To keep the plot strong your main characters must confront complications (i.e. complications with other, with self, with nature, etc.)
- Make sure to include suspense/mystery throughout the plot. Don't try to resolve things too early. Draw out suspense through methods like: the ticking time bomb, foreshadowing, etc.
Climax:
- Climax should be seen through the main character's point of view. If you don't tell it through their point of view you risk angering the reader. The climax also should be fully developed and the highest point of tension in the book.
Resolution:
- Clean up all hanging threads. Leave no sub-plot unresolved or you risk irritating the reader and risk losing them. - Make sure that the resolution makes sense. Don't let the leading up sequences lead you to a surprise ending that makes no sense. - Finish - Do not drag on your ending for any longer than it really needs.

Other things to help make a strong story
Coincidence:
- Coincidences can be tempting for a writer to find a way out of a situation (i.e. someone who suddenly shows up with the answers or clues that you have never seen before and probably will never see again). So be very careful how you use them.
Hooks:
- Hooks are things that keep the reader involved and asking "What happens next?" Hooks make it so that the reader can't put the story down until they've reached the end of the story.
Protagonist:
- Should take action and not be waiting around for some action to happen to them.
- A positive action by the protagonist doesn't necessarily require positive result. If something goes wrong because of the protagonist action you increase the tention of the story and show that even well-meaning intent can have negative resutls.
- The more than an act/event means to the main character, the more you can create an effective plot and have the reader care about what happens to that character.

I want to again thank Rachel Ann Nunes and the LDS Storymakers for their wonderful advice and support of all of us out here striving to become better (and need I say) published writers. Stay tuned for further thoughts the other classes and discussions that I attended.

Keep on writing.