Signposts

We're almost done!  REMINDER:  Our next class will be Friday, September 6.

Secondly, if you are not interested in linking up your stories this week and if you don't have another idea to write on, feel free to pop on over to Share a Pair of Stories for a straight-up lifestory writing prompt.

Okay, if you are here to link up your stories, let's review our progress so far.

1. We found the theme (or themes) that seems central or recurs often in our stories.
2. We discovered which other genre's characteristics our story shares.
3. We identified the places that our shorter stories should fill on a plot line of our larger story's genre.
4. We identified the inner change that our character makes during the course of our stories and started to put specific events to the changes.
5. We noted common components of the inner change narrative.
6. We combined our two plot lines together.
7. We beefed up our climax.

Today, we will pull the book together.  Once the climax has been finished, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does my climax relate directly to the theme of my stories?
2. Does everything before the climax clearly point to the approach of the climax?
3. Do I explain how I got all of the skills I needed in the climax?
4. Have I included all of the pertinent (not everything, mind you, only everything pertinent) background information necessary to understand the climax?
5. Does all of the action afterward stem from the climax (of the inner or literal narrative)?
6. Does my resolution happen because of the climax?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, go back and revise until you can answer yes.

I can't wait to see you in September!!