tlwt 3 act boardAs 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!

tmc 3 act boardBy 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!

  • Share/Bookmark