Many writers focus only on the plot of their story. They have a fantastic idea, but the story wanders and stagnates. Why? Was it because they were a pantser? Or did a plotter go stale? Neither. Usually, the author simply did not ask their story the right questions.

Story is about someone solving a problem. It’s best to know exactly what that problem is before you hit the publish button, or even begin to write. If you can concisely sum up what your story is about, it will be far easier to write, and have a much better chance of getting attention.

How do you sum up a complex story?
Try summing up your story by explaining what your theme, conflict, and plot are, and how they work together to solve the story problem.

• Theme. What are you saying about human nature? What is your main character's biggest flaw that readers will relate to? Theme is the central idea of any story, and the universal truth that the story teller is exploring. Often it is directly tied to the main character's biggest flaws.
• Conflict. What flaws, things, or people must the protagonist overcome to achieve their goal? The conflict, internal and external, is the heart of the issue to be solved or overcome. This is what the reader is constantly thinking about as they read.
• Plot. What are the external events that force the protagonist to deal with their inner issues? What big thing (and I mean BIG) happens that forces the main character into action? Remember that escalating progression of external cause-and-effect events force humans to face and deal with their issues. If it weren't for things getting out of hand, we would never change anything in our lives. Same goes for the main character.

Once you are able to explain what your theme, conflict, and plot are, you will find it much easier to sum up your story in a short paragraph (and even put it together in a gripping synopsis!). Once you can sum up your story, you can keep it focused, keep it strong, and it will make editing SO much easier for you.​

If you’d like to check out a well written book synopsis that outlines the 3 keys of their story, I recommend you read the synopsis of these well written books. 
(BTW, these are Amazon Affiliate links. If you buy these books, you help their author, and you help me as well):

Is this overwhelming? Does the idea of writing a pager turner sound impossible? Do you want to be the author of the next best seller, but fear you won't meet your goals and expectations? 
I'm hear to help.
You can subscribe HERE (or below) and receive access to several free PDF books that will walk you through the steps of writing a compelling story with dynamic characters, PLUS get early access to exciting writing career boosting opportunities! 

Great writers always clue us into what the characters are thinking and feeling, because that’s where the story lives. But, that's easier said than done. How do you learn to get your reader to feel and put your book on the "All The Feels" list on Goodreads?

Well, my first suggestion is to read more books! Find some books known for giving you the feels, and read them. Dissect them. Watch how the author does it. I will list a couple I recommend below in an affiliate link!

Next, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the reader aware of the protagonist’s specific expectations? Can the reader tell whether those expectations are being met or not? Writers often forget this, and forget to get into the right specifics.
2. Does each scene affect your protagonist emotionally in the moment? The reader must know what emotion the protagonist is feeling, especially when it’s the opposite of what the protagonist is saying they are feeling.
3. Does the protagonist react to everything that happens? Physically, thinking, or feeling? How does what happens affect your protagonist? To keep your readers invested, your protagonist must react to everything that happens to them or around them. Remember to keep everything that happens pertinent to the story!
4. Can the reader see the causal link between what happened and why your protagonist reacted the way they did? This links back to Number 1. If the reader understands Number 1, then they will likely understand this.
5. Does everything reflect the protagonist’s point of view? Remember: First Person especially is never neutral. Everything in the story relates to HIM or HER.

​Help the reader feel what the protagonist feels. Let the reader into their feelings at every turn. Give them what they need to be invested in the story. Don't bog them down with cool world crafting and spell mechanics and backstory. Just let them get in your character's head and heart, so they can celebrate, or cringe, or cry with your character.​

Just click the book image, and it will take you straight to Amazon! If you purchase something, it will give me a tiny little commission that will probably be used to buy kids vitamins, dog treats, or more books.

​Mockingjay is the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you really won't understand all of the emotions in it without the other two books. The other two books build up to this book, so it is RAW EMOTION. Yet, the author's writing style never changes between the books. You, as the reader, have just taken a wild journey with the character, and know what she loves, expects, and hopes for. So, before you know it, your emotions are wrapped up in her success and failure as well.

​If you like classics, my mom recommends Charles Dickens for drawing in reader emotion. Specifically, she recommended The Old Curiosity Shop.
Published in 1841, The Old Curiosity Shop was an instant bestseller that, even while it was criticized for its sentimentality, captured the hearts of the nation with its portrayal of little Nell Trent, who is thrown into a terrifying world when her beloved grandfather is unable to pay his debts to the loathsome Quilp.

​The Book of Form and Emptiness finds a mother and son grappling with the profound loss of the father of the family. While the mother’s anguish expresses itself in a hoarding problem, her son hears inanimate objects talking to him, and these voices eventually overwhelm in a cacophony that drowns out his own. Did I mention the book itself is also a character?

Is this overwhelming? Does the idea of writing a pager turner sound impossible? Do you want to be the author of the next best seller, but fear you won't meet your goals and expectations? 
I'm hear to help.
You can subscribe HERE and receive access to several free PDF books that will walk you through the steps of writing a compelling story with dynamic characters, PLUS get early access to book coaching opportunities and sales!

Story is internal, not external.
If the reader is not feeling what the protagonist feels, the reader won’t keep reading.
Everything that happens in a story NEEDS to affect the protagonist. If it doesn’t affect the protagonist, it doesn’t trigger emotion, and so remains neutral to your reader.
The reader’s understanding is important as we share the protagonist’s thoughts when their expectations are being met or not being met. If your reader doesn't understand, they have no emotional investment.

Perspective

• First-person thoughts and expectations must be woven into everything. The protagonist draws conclusions about everything they mention, down to the smallest detail. Everything they mention inherently pertains to the story they are telling and to the point they're making. They never, NEVER mention something “just because”, or objectively describe things.
• Second-person narration a rarely used technique in which the action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as "you". The reader is immersed into the narrative as a character involved in the story. The narrator describes what "you" do and lets you into your own thoughts and background. Again, nothing is ever mentioned without purpose, or objectively described. Everything brought to "your" attention is important and causes some reaction from "you".
• Third-person, the narrator shares reactions, avoids dialogue tags, and doesn’t need to use quotation marks and italics to convey the thoughts and conclusions of the protagonist. The trick is to seamlessly slip out of the neutral narrator’s voice and into the character's very subjective point of view . If done well, it’s invisible.

It's been a long time since I did any blogging or vlogging, and unless you've been keeping up with me on Facebook or Instagram, you have NO idea that I - the person who swore she was incapable of staying in a long-term romantic relationship and would never get married and was totes okay with that - got married to my best friend in 2019, and inherited some bonus kids! And then I - the person who was led to assume she would likely not be able to get pregnant or give birth easily - to my own surprise, popped out my very own baby a year later (she's the only DIY project I've ever finished)! I also started growing my hair out again (yikes), and have moved from the country into town (don't get too excited - the pop is roughly 1500, there are chickens right next door, and cows across the street).
It's been a whirlwind of craziness in my life the last couple of years.
However, I am slowly reentering the blogging/vlogging/bookish world again, and let me just say that it is pretty terrifying and I'm scared I'm gonna drown... again... BUT! Here I am, giving it another go.

OH! Not to be forgotten: I still have Pilot. He's gotten old and chonky, but is still the most goodest boy ever to wag a tail. He loves his new baby that I made for him.

If you are interested in free books, writing tips, and learning how to become a Master Storyteller, please subscribe to my helpful emails here:

​“I saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over him. He was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well.”
​- Mina Harker - Dracula

There are four books in the series: Raising Dragons, The Candlestone, Circles of Seven, and Tears of a Dragon.  In paperback, kindle, or audiobook, they are excellent books. Just pick one and get involved! Believe me, once you get started, you won't want to set this series down.

Have you ever witnessed a dog get hit by a vehicle? Or trampled by a horse? Have you ever been in a situation where you found yourself thinking "If my dog just understood what I was saying, I could save him."?
I know I have been in all three situations, plus some. None of them ended well. That is why I have made a big deal about drilling my dog, Pilot, on three simple commands: Come, Whoa (stop), & Down.
​
Suppose Pilot is hiking with me off leash (as he often does) and he unknowingly strays toward the den of a wild animal. I can say "COME" and he will obey me right away, leaving the territorial wild animal with big teeth and innumerable horrific deceases alone. This works the same way if he is out of the yard and the UPS truck pulls into our drive unexpectedly.
The "Whoa" command works in a similar way.
There have been times when we are walking down an old dirt road and Pilot and I are on opposite sides. If a vehicle comes down the road toward us, I can tell Pilot "Whoa" and he'll stop, sit down and not move until I give him the okay to do so. This allows the vehicle to pass us both safely.
Down is another important one, where I live. Sometimes, the places we hike have horses or cattle. Most cattle, especially those with babies, do not like dogs. If the cows grow concerned with Pilot's presence, I can simply tell him "Down". As soon as his head disappears beneath the grasses, the cows settle down and eventually move away to greener pastures. This works for horses and stray dogs as well, and keeps fights at bay.
One other command I am trying to teach Pilot is "RUN AWAY". Sometimes, that's about all one can do when faced with an angry cow, horse, or certain kinds of wildlife. The thing is, though, I want him to run AWAY FROM ME. He tends to run to me and hide between my legs when things get heated. That causes.... *cough*.... problems. Especially when we are both running for our lives.

HOW DO YOU TEACH THESE COMMANDS?
There are tons - TONS - of videos on YouTube on how to teach your dog the "down" and "come" commands. So I won't even try to explain those to you.

Whoa, or stop, is a little more complicated.
The first time I needed such a command was when I'd just brought Pilot home. He was playing in the farm yard one day, saw me, and started running toward me like a crazy happy dog. Sitting right between him and I was an angry hen with a bunch of tiny baby chicks. In an effort to stop a catastrophe from happening, I ran forward, put my hand out like Iron Man, and screamed "WHOA DOG!"
He stopped instantly and looked at me like "Oh no! What did I do?", and the flustered hen was able to shuffle her chicks to a safer part of the farm yard.
From then on, I started actively teaching the "Whoa" command to Pilot. I started out by calling him toward me. When he was just a few feet away, I jumped toward him with my hand out and said a loud, firm "Whoa!". When he stopped, I'd wait a second before calling him to me. Then I would throw a super big party for him with lots of treats and praise until he came to realize that "whoa" was not a harsh, mean word. As he got better, I started stopping him further and further away from me, and making him wait longer and longer for the release. Now, he's pretty much a pro.

Now, I will say that I haven't tried to actively teach this to any other dogs yet. I guess this technique would work with just about any dog, though, since it is a natural reaction to freeze if someone jumps and yells at you. 
If the dog was a small or very gentle mannered dog, though, I'd take a softer approach to teaching the "whoa" command. Otherwise, it might scare them away, not make them freeze.

Here is a very short YouTube video of Pilot demonstrating his "Life Saving" commands. Enjoy!

​I cannot tell you how happy I am that the second installment of Tales of the Wovlen is FINALLY DONE and PUBLISHED! Can you believe that it's been 3 years since I published the first book??

I have been so frustrated with this book, because it took forever to get it written, edited, and formatted. And I know you've been frustrated because "What the heck is taking that author so long to get the next book done?!" and "She keeps setting a date, then pushes it back. What's up with her?"
But, the frustration is finally over. At long last, the book is published!

You can buy the paperback at CreateSpace (which gives more of the royalties back to the author).
Or you can Pre-order the Kindle ebook on Amazon.
Unfortunately, it will be a while before I can offer signed copies for sale.

If you would like to preview the story before you buy the book, that's not a problem! 
You can read the prologue (chapter before the first chapter) here: Thank You For Loving Me
You can also read a snippet of chapter 9: Annaka & Arden

Please, please, PLEASE leave a review of the book on Amazon after you've finished reading it. Just a simple, honest review will be fine. Even bad reviews are helpful! Every review I get boosts my book's stats, regardless of how many stars they are.
So please, help this poor author get her belated book noticed by reviewing it on Amazon, blogging about it, making a video review, and sharing it with your friends via social media or in real life!
​
As a bonus, if you are a proud book worm, like to make book suggestions to others, really want to review my book specifically, and have a blog or Youtube account to share that review on, I will send you a FREE ebook of The Dragon's Due for you to review! Just send me a message on my Facebook page, and we'll iron out the details there.

You can also help out by sharing the image above! It can be pinned to Pinterest and I will be sharing it to my Twitter and Facebook pages, so please pop over to one (or all) of those and click LIKE and SHARE (or retweet... or pin it... whatever the case may be).

Thank you guys for all your help, patience, and support thus far, and please enjoy the continued adventures of Keegan and Pharrgon the dragon!