I’m a pretty linear thinker. I’m also content to read books and watch movies and let the plot unfold without a whole lot of guessing about what’s going to happen. As a writer, this doesn’t serve me well.
But I forge ahead anyway, looking for ways to sift through the mound of cliches clogging up perfectly good brain space in the hopes I’ll see something new. By continuing to write, I hope become more adept at this game.
Sometimes though, I need a little more. So I research. I know it’s a time tested avoidance method that keeps me from writing, but I do it anyway.
I ran across this article at Suite101.com related to plot twists. At the very least it’s a place to start. Jennifer Jensen offers some helpful tips and links to get the ball rolling. Just reading the article got the wheels spinning. I’ve never been a big brainstormer (or barnstormer for that matter) but it’s one of those techniques that pops up again and again in various writing books, articles and blogs. All right. I’ll do it. Anything to avoid ending up like this:
