As I get closer to the final form my novel will take, I like to use this Three-Act chart, based on my friend Alexandra Sokoloff’s book, Screenwriting Tips for Authors. The top picture was taken as I neared the end of writing my upcoming June book, The Lies We Told. Notice how neat and organized and peaceful it looks!
By contrast, the lower photo is where I’m at now in my Work-in-Progress, The Midwife’s Confession. Messy, disorganized and chaotic, sort of like my office (see my last blog post). Every card represents a scene (or occasionally, the internal feelings of a character at a point in the story), and I spend hours moving the cards around to be sure the pacing of the story will be fast enough to keep my readers engaged and exciting enough to keep them surprised. I have a bit more shuffling to do. Can’t wait till picture #2 looks more like picture #1!
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