CAREFULLY CONSTRUCT THE PLOT

A carefully constructed plot is also important. Though element of suspense is critical only to certain genres, namely mysteries and psychological thrillers, element of suspense can deepen overall impact of any work of fiction.

The goal is to create tension from very first page, to trap readers in viscous web of suspense as early as possible, and to keep them there to very end. Nancy Kress, author of Beginnings, Middles, and Ends (Writer's Digest, 1999) writes, "...you must hook a reader or editor in first three paragraphs." Think about it. There are tens of thousands of books available to readers these days, not to mention other forms of entertainment. There are also tens of thousands of aspiring writers vying for attention of agents, editors, and readers. You don't have much time to make an impression. Make a good one as quickly as you can.

Give your protagonist a difficult goal, then throughout novel add complications. Give her a deadline and force her to make difficult choices. Convince reader there's no solution; no way out. Always leave a question in reader's mind. This will give them a great reason to continue on.

Prolong agony. By making life difficult for your protagonist, you'll inspire anticipation, even dread, in your readers. But dread is good! Stir readers' emotions whenever you can. Force them to empathize, to feel. That's what they want! They want to feel sad, angry, inspired, annoyed, excited. They want to be taken off guard. They paid for good entertainment; make sure you give it to them. By writing intriguing characters and crafting a solid plot, you'll create a compulsive need to turn page. They will skip meals, miss bedtimes, and (though not condoned) ignore spouses and friends until they reach answers for which they've been searching. They'll keep turning pages until they reach end.

Conversely, draw readers in, but don't let them down. Nothing's worse than reaching last pages of a book just to find that ending is a letdown. Many books do that; don't let yours! Make yours a page turner...from first to very last page.

- Add ten-minutes of writing time to each day. For example, if you normally write thirty-minutes a day, write for forty. If you write zero presently, write ten.

- Research one new market each week.

- Read half of a writing-related article each day.

- Spend 15 more minutes a week networking.

- Brainstorm article ideas for 5 minutes a day.

- Each day, read two paragraphs from that writing book you just bought.

- Write one additional chapter of your novel-in-progress each week.

- Spend ten minutes a day cleaning your writing area and organizing your files.

You may want to try a few of these, or think of changes that better fit your needs. The idea is to think big but to start small. You're full of optimism right now and you're setting big goals, but don't lose perspective. Your life will become busy and it's all too easy to place your goals on backburner where you will not think of them again for days, weeks, or even months. The idea is to begin implementing them now, in small increments.

Once you find these small commitments have become a habit, you may want to implement small increases. Ten minutes may be traded up for fifteen, one chapter may become two. Just remember, little things will add up and morph into bigger things.

Here's to accomplishing big things in 2004, little by little.