Melissa Barker-Simpson

X Marks the Spot

We’re not going to talk about how tenuous a link today’s title is. Nope, we’re going to skip right over that!

Whether you’re the type of writer who plans everything to the last detail, or merely follows a loose outline, there will be a point when you have a particular goal to work towards. A kind of x marks the spot (I told you it was tenuous), that indicates a major event or turning point in the story.

It might be the death of a character, or a scene set to change the direction of the plot. In the back of your mind – or in front of you in black and white – you know what you want to happen. It’s a game changer and that’s okay. You’re planning on it, so all is good.

But then the character decides, ‘sod that, I don’t want to die’ and you’re left with the aftermath of that particular fight. Then the only x marking the spot (okay, grasping at straws now), is the giant cross against all your best laid plans or the metaphorical grave you buried the body in! Sometimes the characters get their own way, sometimes they don’t, but however many plans you make, the road map is bound to change.

And tenuous links aside, that’s okay. We’re a flexible lot, and we develop a vast number of coping strategies to fit our mood, the situation or, let’s face it, if the wind blows the wrong way!

Thanks for stopping by

Mel