The plot thickens… a line that often suggest suspense, and yet every work of fiction must have a plot. Can a plot thicken… metaphorically speaking, it most definitely can. The author develops the plot… or maybe the plot develops a life of its own as the author’s fingers fly over the keys and words join together to form paragraphs that eventually reveal the plot. In my experience, it seems the plot often develops on its on. I may have an idea in mind when I begin a new work, but many times as my characters come to life and develop their own “independent” personalities, the plot changes course.

The key to developing a good plot for a novel is to “unwrap” the conflict that rages within an idea. If you’re anything like me, then you will understand that a writer’s mind never really sleeps. It always seems that just as you start to drift off to sleep an idea attacks you and the need to write it down grows greater the more you try to ignore it. Then as you jot down these stray ideas a magical event takes place… the plot thickens. I have found that it is best to carry around a small notebook and an assortment of pens because I never know when or where an idea will blossom. Otherwise, I find myself searching for scraps of paper, napkins, envelopes, or whatever might be handy to write on. Writing is addictive, and once an idea takes flight I have to “write it out of my system”. It may appear to others that my mind is a myriad of erratic thought, but somewhere within the chaos is order. I gather all my notes and scraps of paper and head to the computer.  Once there I realize that during these months/years of writing and creating, a well-rounded plot has developed, subplots have developed, the characters have “become real”, and at last, a novel is born.