The Basics of Story Telling

There are so many novels being released into the world every day that you might think you're biggest challenge is being unique--finding some way to stand out. That's partly true. You need to find your own voice and take on things that will make those tried and true tropes (say that five times fast!) feel fresh and new.

However, there are certain things every story should have. I'm going to share them with you by linking to some of my favorite posts about them.

The 5 Essential Story Ingredients--Totally different from what I'm listing below. Great post though on how to help keep your reader engaged in the story.

A complete structure (plot)--you know, a beginning, middle and end and all the stuff that keeps the story moving? This link takes you to another page with links. Links to a powerpoint, a youtube presentation, etc. Definitely worth your time! Especially if you're a visual audio learner. :)
How to Build a Story

Characters. These characters don't have to be human. They can be animals or even a planet. I read one book where the people didn't make any sense to me and kept getting in the way of the real star of the show--the world.
7 Common character types
How to Craft Compelling Characters
How to Create a Character Profile

Setting that pulls you in and helps you understand the world and how the characters relate to it.
The Basic Elements of Setting in a Story
How to Employ All 5 Senses in Creating Your Setting
Writing Dynamic Settings

Suspense and Tension. Yeah, it's not just for mysteries or FBI thrillers.
25-things-you-should-know-about-suspense-and-tension
6 Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense
41 Ways to Create and Heighten Suspense  There is so much good info in here!

Conflict--yes, this is different from suspense and tension. They are closely related, but different.
The Secret to Creating Conflict
External Conflict Vs. Internal Conflict
7 Types of Narrative Conflict--just in case you've forgotten.

What have I missed?

When characters take over

I’m currently rewriting a dystopian story. It’s gritty, it’s harsh. It’s cruel. And even though I’d planned out the rewrite as I always do, the second chapter completely broadsided me. Maybe it happens to you too. You start by writing something. Then make a small seemingly insignificant decision that circles out into something much bigger than you’d ever anticipated.

That’s what happened to me. I’m not going to go into detail, but I made a small choice of having a nasty piece of work being in a confined space with my main character while she’s bound up and blindfolded. I’d planned that she’d be seriously freaked out by him, but that it would be the extent of it.

Thing is though, that my writing method basically requires one thing above all else: That my characters are alive in my head. That all of the characters are alive in my head.

Which means that all characters have motivations, wants, needs, likes, dislikes and pet peeves. And this creepy character hates the main character so deeply that he wants to hurt her in the worst way he can think of.

In short, I’d created a scenario that he could take advantage of in ways I didn’t anticipate and that have ramifications on the entire story.

Which leaves me with a big dilemma. Part of me wants to rewrite this chapter, with me changing the scenario so that the creep can’t take the same advantage. It’ll be easier. It will make the whole story fall back into the plan.

I just don’t know if I should. I don’t know if I’m just running scared. Maybe I am. I often write scenes I don’t like from a humane point of view, but go with it because it feels right for the story. In a lot of ways, this scene does. It illustrates how far the world has sunk. It can show a lot of stuff that might not feel as real otherwise.

It feels dicey to me, though. Is this the story I want to tell? Or is the original version in my head the one I should go with?

Honestly, I like the original version more.

But if…

No. I’m cutting that chapter. I’ll just keep it somewhere. In case I change my mind. 

Have you also had your characters take over and veer off your chosen path? What did you do? How did it work out?

Conference Recap--Plots to Die For

LDStorymakers 2014 Writer's Conference Recap

Rachelle J. Christensen taught a great class on plotting that was slanted toward Suspense novels, but could be used for any genre. I've always been a "discovery writer" or a "pantser". And there's nothing wrong with that. However, this class helped me understand a few things about plotting that I can use after "discovering" my story to help in the editing stages. This will be a summary of my notes from her class.



Perhaps one of the most important things Rachelle said was this, "Now we are competing with movies."

I'm the kind of writer (and reader) who likes to be firmly in the setting and know a little about the characters before all the conflict gets started. That way I can answer the "Why do I care?" question. However, if we want people to sit and read instead of watching the latest blockbuster movie, we need to do something to grab their attention and emotions right off the bat. While still helping them know "Why do I care?"

Sometimes this feels almost impossible doesn't it. Rachelle suggested sitting and free writing for the first 50 pages. Then you can look at all that story and figure out where it really begins. She suggested that you jump right in and then do a brief intro of the characters.

"Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." ~Elmore Leonard

Rachelle then ran through the 7 Plot Point System and suggested we all go watch Dan Wells YouTube videos on Story Stucture. Once again, Rachelle and Dan both mention you need this even if you are a Discover Writer. Here it is briefly:

• Hook
• Plot turn 1--Introduce conflict, world changes (inciting incident)
• Pinch 1--apply pressure (something goes wrong/make it worse)
• Midpoint--Exact center of your story, maybe not center of the book. The protagonist moves from reacting to acting
• Pinch 2--cycles of try/fail until you've added more pressure until almost hopeless (example: In The Incredibles, Syndrome has captured them and the robot is smashing the city.)
• Plot turn 2--They get the final piece of information or thing needed to move toward the end and the...
• Resolution

And finally, the elements of Suspense which can be used in every genre as well.

• Setting--Don't just grab a location out of a hat. There must be a reason they are from Oregon, or wherever. Every element is important. Whatever you mention in that setting must be important. If you mention an expensive oriental vase, someone needs to steal it or get hit over the head with it.
• Characters--The must be involved, active. Also, a good description is like the setting for your character. (I would add they need to be well rounded characters with strengths and flaws)
• High Stakes--Obviously, but also be mindful that your minor characters don't hijack your story because they are more interesting or their stakes are higher.
• Question--Make sure the story raises questions that your reader wants answered while keeping a good balance. If you ask too many that take too long to answer the reader will get frustrated and perhaps stop reading. 
• Foreshadowing--"You know the thunder is coming, but when?" (I also took a class by J. Scott Savage on the Art of Subtlety, so stayed tuned for more on this. And no, while technically foreshadowing, there was nothing subtle about that last sentence.) 
• Problems--There need to be hard choices, grey areas. Create lose-lose situations (Pinch point 2)

A trend in thrillers and mysteries that I wish would die (plus a compliment)

Well that didn't work out to plan. See the point here is for someone to send me something to critique, and if there was an interesting thing to point out, I focus on that, especially if I had to crit a chapter, since chapters plus my crit would probably run too long.

However, I just finished reading a short story someone sent me to critique and... well... there wasn't much wrong. I had one suggestion to improve the big reveal (it's a locked-room mystery), but then, even as it is now, the reveal has a surprising (although it makes perfect sense) twist that makes the reveal worth-while, even if it could have been a bit more of a surprise.

Would you like to read the chapter? Sure you do. Here's the link.

Ooh. I actually do have an interesting point to raise coming from this crit. Plot twists and how they work. (Sorry if this is rambly. I had a 13 hour day thanks to a wedding where I have to arrange flowers. But I'll try to remain lucid enough to get the point across.)

Right. So everyone loves plot twists. They make readers scream, squee, cry, laugh with glee.... They take readers from one emotional extreme to another, making the reading experience feel like a roller coaster the reader wants to take again.

The thing is, plot twists have been exploited so many times that they do lose some of their effect. Especially the "It's a twist because you didn't get to see the main character doing something incredibly important to the plot. Get it?"

No... No I don't.

Mmm... I'm probably saying this because exhaustion lowers my inhibitions, but hey, it's my opinion, so here it is:

Those aren't plot twists. They're cop-outs.

And they kept being used again and again. Oh sure, they do take the reader's from extreme to extreme. But instead of: "OMG. OMG! OMG!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah AWESOME!!!!!" or even better: "OMG. OMG! OMG!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH SHIT!!!!!"

These "twists" are more of an: "OMG!!!................... Oh."

Horrid, horrid use of exclamations, I know. Guess they're all escaping while my inner editor sleeps. Point is, taking readers to high stakes and massive tension and then dropping them on their asses is just lame. Really.

Sadly a lot of your run-of-the-mill bestselling thriller writers employ this tactic. I think people get dazed and dazzled by the adrenaline high followed by the crash after. Maybe it's like eating candy. After a sugar crash you crave more sugar, don't you?

Plot twists done correctly elevate stories to other realms entirely. It's like 80% dark chocolate compared to a cheapy milk chocolate (I.E. fake twists).

Sadder still than the fact that these fake twists get abused is the fact that with a tiny bit more effort, a much more effective twist could be achieved.

All it takes is leaving breadcrumbs of information, leading readers right where they think they're headed, except you as the writer would be leading them somewhere else entirely.

Simply put, people are used to all sorts of information creeping into a story. So if  you put all the building blocks to your big twist out for them to see, in a way that makes them seem unrelated or unimportant, the reader will only see the whole picture when you reveal the twist, which basically acts as a way to put all the pieces together. And if that twist has mind-blowing effects on the characters/story/stakes... even better.

And truly brilliant writers can do this without hiding anything from the reader. A plot twist should be a moment of clarity when the reader sees everything they missed before, and is shocked because 1) s/he missed the clues and 2) at the MASSIVE repercussions those clues actually have.

So yes, PJ, if you're reading this: I called you a brilliant writer.

Short Story Structure--And How It Can Make Your Novel Better

Many times (and many different places) I've heard that writing short stories can help you become a better novelist. For that reason and that reason alone, I've tried to write short stories. Some have been 500 words, most around 1000, and one was up to 3000 words. Every one has received the same response.

"This feels like the beginning of a much larger story."

*sigh*

Although that could be seen as a good thing, it means I haven't quite nailed the short story. In an effort to improve I continued my internet search for tips. Let's start by building on yesterday's post on Story Structure.

Sources:
Philip Brewer
Storyfix.com

So how does the short story relate to a complete story?
With short stories, the writer doesn’t have room to “show” the entire journey. It’s okay to just mention/tell/imply that parts happened so you can focus on the story you’re currently sharing. For instance, maybe your short story is simply the inciting incident, but the reader must finish knowing the road of trial and error and final resolution will come.

OR

Maybe your short story is simply the dark moment in the hero’s journey. There needs to be just enough for the reader to know that he has been through lots of challenge and failure to bring him to this point even though we don’t get to experience all of it. Here the ending needs to give the reader a sense that the hero has reached some conclusion or epiphany that will help him be successful in the next encounter with evil—even though the reader doesn’t get to see it.

The essential core of a short story needs to:

1. Require the character to make a choice,
2. show that choice by actions,
3. and those actions must have consequences.

Larry Brooks from (Storyfix.com)

"Only the short story writer has to approach the task from a different perspective. While those elements need to be there, they don’t always need to be on the page. 
Conflict. Stakes. Need. Journey. Opposition. Characterization. Setting. Arena. Sub-text. Voice.
They all need to be there.
Even if they’re not." 

In order to do all of this, the short story writer has to focus on the plot/theme/reason/purpose of the story. Why does this story have to be written? What’s the point in telling it? There must be one and the writer must take conscious and careful effort to always be working toward that goal. There’s no time to get sidetracked.

“When you do choose a sub-set of the larger story paradigm, the part you isolate should be written from an unspoken context of the entire architecture.
Which means, your character came from somewhere… something changes… they respond to that change… something else changes… they attack their problem or goal… something else changes yet again… and then things resolve.
Where you jump into that sequence is your choice as a short story writer. One that the novelist doesn’t have.” 

So that's how writing short stories can help me as a novelist.

Every word MUST do something for the story. There is no space for extra words that have no purpose. And I have to know what that purpose is from the very beginning.

Let's Practice:
Choose/make up/whatever a character and write a three sentence synopsis of his/her story based on the central core points. This is the beginning and focus to your short story.

1. Require the character to make a choice,
2. show that choice by actions,
3. and those actions must have consequences.

Share by posting them in the comments! 

Examples from my shorts:

Gareth must choose between accepting a mission to the planet’s surface alone or staying on the ship. He states he’s capable of killing the other candidates if necessary to be chosen, and after he’s chosen he steals extra supplies hoping they will help him survive on the planet. Gareth finds the earth habitable but his mission objective is waiting to deal death if he can’t answer one question correctly. (The Sleeper)

Linda must decide between continuation or dying a slow death by age. She leaves everything behind and goes to the continuation facility. Once she’s a part of the collection of human minds she learns it was never a choice and there are dark forces at work on earth. (Continuation)

Come back this afternoon to find our photo prompts and practice some flash fiction.

Story Structure--What Does it Really Mean?

It I asked you what the structure of a good story was...what would you say?

Would you draw me a diagram? Maybe something like this...

Or this...

We've all seen lots of diagrams and heard words like:

• Three Acts or Beginning, Middle, End
• Inciting Incident
• Rising Action
• Mid-point Reversal
• Dark Moment
• Climax
• Falling Action/Resolution/Denouement

But what in the world does all of that really mean?

What if I showed it to you like this? (I found the following HERE.)

Algis Budrys’s seven point story structure:

1. a character, 
2. in a situation,
3. with a problem, 
4. who tries repeatedly to solve his problem, 
5. but repeatedly fails, (usually making the problem worse), 
6. then, at the climax of the story, makes a final attempt (which might either succeed or fail, depending on the kind of story it is), after which 
7. the result is “validated” in a way that makes it clear that what we saw was, in fact, the final result. 

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey:

1. The hero is confronted with a challenge, 
2. rejects it, 
3. but then is forced (or allowed) to accept it. 
4. He travels on the road of trials, 
5. gathering powers and allies, and 
6. confronts evil—only to be defeated. 
7. This leads to a dark night of the soul, after which 
8. the hero makes a leap of faith that allows him to 
9. confront evil again and be victorious. 
10. Finally, the student becomes the teacher.

Does it make more sense? Is it easier to put your character on one of these tracks?

It was for me. Having the diagram was great, but having a simple list like this was even better. Now I can plug my story idea in and see if I have all the parts of a complete story. Here is where I plugged in The Magic Wakes.

1. Scientist Talia Zaryn, 
2. is moving to the city from her nightmares,
3. where she knows she will meet her death. 
4. She tries to find proof of the coming invasion and clues to how to defeat the creatures.
5. But she keeps coming up empty. In the process she attracts the attention of the Royalist who believe she's part of an underground movement to take over the government. 
6. Talia finally convinces the Royalist Commander that she's not the threat and that she might actually hold the key to saving their world. Shortly thereafter, 
7. the Dragumon invasion begins and Talia uses her magical talent to focus the energy from thousands of untrained mages in order to defeat the creatures. 

This is the core plot. Of course there are lots of sub-plots and adventures along the way, but this is essentially the main story of book one in my series. There are consequences to #7, but that's an entirely different story. 

Plug in your story idea and see what you come up with. Share if you like, or simply share with us if you learned something new about your story by looking at it differently. 

Wrapping it up

Resolution
It's also known as the falling action. This is the part after the big climax, when things begin to settle down. The  fallout is dealt with. Lingering loose ends are tied up -- or not. This part of the story can be very short, or it can run for some thousands of words, depending on how much you need to clean up, what your readers expect you to address in wrapping up the story, and whether you're laying groundwork for further novels.

Major life changes
Death, marriage, a serious psychological upheaval... readers want to know the characters are going to be okay. That they've adjusted to the new situation, or are making progress toward that.

Back to normal
If your story was about fixing something and getting back to normal, show us that it worked. A little zinger can be fun, though, if things aren't quite they way they used to be.

Ask: what next?
If your characters are riding off into the sunset for further adventures (whether you're going to write them or not) then do give us that riding-into-the-sunset shot. In some ways, this is very similar to the "Back to normal" situation, especially if your characters are career adventurers -- heading off is normal, for them. If you've got a follow-up novel in mind, you can throw a few hints in here.

Don't let this slide
Getting to the end of a novel is exhausting. But bear in mind that this the last of your writing the reader will see until your next book. You don't want to leave them frustrated -- though curious is good, maybe a hint of "hmm, that could be a problem in the future," and warm fuzzy feelings are popular too.

Getting to the end of this series of posts was exhausting too. See you for the contest in August!

Which domino fell first?

Inciting Incident

Photo by Sigurd Decroos,
available at sxc.hu

This is where it all begins. This is the thing that set everything in motion; it's the first domino to fall. And it can be surprisingly difficult to pin down. Is it when two characters met? When something broke? What?

You need a clear grasp of what the conflict in your story is before you can dig out its deepest roots. You need to know why the conflict exists and what will be needed to solve it. This can get into some deep psychology -- or it can be as simple as "You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Hopefully, having started at the climax and worked your way back has clarified your conflict and what goes into it. Often, you have an idea where it all started already and it's creating the steps in between that's difficult. You may find yourself dealing with several inciting incidents for several plot lines. Or maybe by the time you get here your first idea won't work and the inciting incident was something else entirely.

I often have an idea where the story begins, when I start plotting, because that can be a dramatic scene too. Something traumatic happens, or something is discovered -- it's an oh, crap, we've got a problem moment for the characters and those can be fun.

The journey begins
All stories boil down to a journey, however small or abstract. Let's stick with Inigo Montoya as a good example of this. (If you don't know who I'm talking about, go rent and watch The Princess Bride IMMEDIATELY. We'll wait. Heck, we'll watch with you.) His plot is simple: he intends to kill the six-fingered man. Sketching this out, we get:

Inciting incident: Inigo's father is murdered by the six-fingered man
First plot point: He begins to study fencing
Other plot points: He searches for the six-fingered man
Other plot points: He learns the identity of the six-fingered man
Other plot points: He helps storm the castle so he can get at his enemy
Climax: Inigo confronts the six-fingered man and kills him
Resolution: He is offered the job of being Dread Pirate Roberts

If we were working backward from the climax, the first thing Inigo needed to do was get to his enemy. Therefore, he needed to know who his enemy was and where he was. Those could have been easy, but then what would the challenge have been? The writers decided that Inigo didn't know his enemy's identity and learning that would be a significant plot point. Why do it this way? Probably so it would integrate well with the other plots in The Princess Bride. (If he'd known, how might his plot have run to still get him to the climax?)

Where the climb began

First Plot Point
This is sometimes called the point of no return. This is the first step taken toward the climax of the story. Your characters get off their collective butts and do something. Maybe they're reluctant, maybe they're eager, but they have a goal and they're heading toward it.

I say that because of how often I want to take a cattle prod to characters in something I'm reading. Yes, this includes professionally published books. I do not understand the fascination with characters who refuse to do anything or to take any initiative.

Clear conflict
As mentioned in yesterday's post, the conflict needs to be genuine and serious. It also needs to be clear to the reader -- in that there is a conflict. Mysterious antagonists with unknown plots are all well and good, but it does need to be clear that something is afoot and the characters are going to do something about it.

Other problems
Sub-plots are a common feature in books, whether they're things that must be done before addressing the major problem or parallel plotlines involving minor characters and other challenges. The short answer on what to do with them is: write a full plot sketch for each one, with all of the steps, and work them into the main plotline. A scene that's an Other Plot Point for the main plot may also be the Climax of a secondary plot.

Photo by Cindy Stover,
available at sxc.hu

Is this the beginning? 
The story might begin at the first plot point. Or maybe at the inciting incident. TV writers have developed a habit, recently, of starting just before the climax and then flashing back to tell the beginning of the story -- I hate this.  I hated it when Lovecraft told me the end of the story first, too. Then again, Lovecraft's stories all end pretty much the same.

It's a question of how much you will need to explain to the reader in exchange for beginning at a dramatic moment. Exposition is a whole 'nother series of posts, though.

Plotting the way down the mountain

Other Plot Points

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

This is the tricky part. This is where you plot the course down the mountain -- if we say that the climax is a mountain peak -- in such a way that climbing up the mountain will be difficult and interesting. And logical.

Going into this, it helps to know some things. Chances are good that the list will change as you plot.

• Players: how many characters have a stake in the climax, and why.
• Conflicts: what puts them in conflict with other characters, why, and what would be a "win" for them.
• Circumstances: the role that the setting plays in the plot -- limitations imposed by place and time. Be careful with these, because the writer's hand can become too obvious if circumstances and/or coincidence dictate too much of the plot.

Track collision courses
Your climax is the final collision of two or more characters who are at cross purposes. There will have been previous collisions, in which what needs to be done became clear, and/or things were done to prepare for the climax despite the set-backs the characters have received. No final solutions were reached, though, and the tension increased.

Build tension
The Other Plot Points need to track a course of increasing tension. The stakes are getting higher, the consequences are getting worse, the characters have less to work with, or they have more to worry about. Don't blot out all hope, though. Maybe things get very dark before the characters put together the clues you gave them and figure out how to defeat their enemy, but don't paint your heroes into a corner that you'll have to rescue them from with some sort of deus ex machina.

Would five minutes of talking solve everything? 
Or: is this a real and serious conflict? If you find your plot relying on interruptions and coincidences to maintain tension, you might not have a serious conflict. If you find that your characters actually agree and you're trying to keep them from realizing that, you've got a problem. (I found myself in that situation, while working on these posts. So I took my plot sketch out back and shot it. Started over with the characters disagreeing, and why.)

Foreshadowing, patterns, etc.
There are tons of other things you can do in your plot lines: hint at what's to come, set patterns and then mess around with them, throw curve balls (which you planned, of course) to keep the characters on their toes, crush their hopes and dreams repeatedly, and plenty more. They all need to build toward the climax, though.

Walking backwards: starting at the climax

Climax
This is the scene I often see first -- the big, dramatic one where everything has come to a head. The characters are shouting, fighting, blowing stuff up. Or maybe it's an emotionally charged scene, where relationships are at stake and everything hangs on a single word. Either way, the big question is: how do we get there?

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

Earned wins
Characters must earn their victories. They have to put the work in, take the risks, suffer the consequences. Getting to the climax had to be difficult. The climax itself has to be difficult. How is this scene a "win" for the characters involved? Is it a big win, or just scraping by? How much anguish did they go through to get here?

Good solution to the problem, and why
Needless to say, this all must make sense and work. It needs to have been clearly defined and explained, and the consequences of failure laid out. It's clear and obvious why this was a problem, and why it needs to be solved this way.

Since you may not know what's going on, entirely, make note of all the elements involved. Things said, things done, emotional states. If one character comes into the scene furious, you'll need to figure out why. If a vase is smashed to make a point, you need to know why the vase is significant -- or what the act of smashing meant, if the vase itself was not important.

Promises you made 
A climax is a chance to pay off your readers. There will be many opportunities to keep the promises you've made to your readers, but this is a big one. The nature of a climax -- action-oriented or highly emotional -- is often influenced by genre expectations, so bear that in mind as well. What are your readers going to want to see? This may not be entirely clear until you've worked out more of the plot, but it's good to be thinking about it throughout. 

Be flexible
Expect things to change while you're working all of this out. That line about murdering your darlings may come into play. Do not be flexible about logic, however. Yes, anything can be pulled off (he wants to kill my sister, therefore I must marry him) with enough character development and explaining, but the less logical it is, the more work you'll have to do to sell it.

Which is not an argument against doing something wild and different, of course. Don't expect the reader to come along quietly -- you've got to persuade them that all of this makes perfect sense given the circumstances.

The five parts of a plot

There are many ways to plot a novel. In general, stories build from the beginning to a climax, then wrap up and end. You can use a three-act structure, or a four-act structure, you can have a series of catastrophes and lots of falling action, maybe your "dark night of the soul" lasts until the final page.

You can begin in the middle or present events out of chronological order, but the structure still exists.

This is one way to do it. Personally, I do my plotting mostly backwards -- because I need to figure this all out before I start writing. If you're a pantser and you're working with what you've already written, this can still help. Let's define the steps in their correct order, briefly.

Diagram by L. Blankenship.

Inciting Incident
It's said that there are really only two inciting incidents: the beginning of a journey, or the arrival of a stranger. In other words, the status quo is disrupted and something must happen as a result. 

First Plot Point
The first step is taken toward the climax.

Other Plot Points
These scenes track the progress toward the climax, involving progress made, set-backs, and working through obstacles.

Climax
The scene or series of scenes in which the conflict is confronted and resolved.

Resolution
Also known as the falling action; tidying up, settling, and finishing the story.

As I wrote this series of posts, I was working out the structure of Disciple, Part V. One of the plotlines is: the king must work out a new alliance with the queen of a neighboring country. When I began this, I had a small handful of scene ideas based on things that interest me, and character moments I would like to have. Here's what I worked out:

• Inciting Incident: The king, Kiefan, comes to see the queen of the neighboring country, Ciara, to work out an alliance. They already have a rocky history and would've been just as glad to not meet again.
• 
First Plot Point: Ciara refuses to see him. 

• Other Plot Points: Kiefan tries to break the ice, but Ciara makes it clear that he has nothing to offer.
• Other Plot Points: He keeps after her, over several scenes, because he really needs this alliance. But it's not looking good and they're  getting angry at each other. 
• 
Other Plot Points: Ciara suddenly changes her tune and starts making demands. (This stems from developments in her own plot line.) Kiefan's suspicious, and still feeling insulted, and reacts more harshly than he ought to. Now it's looking like they'll be at war rather than allied. 

• Climax: A third character must step up and be a go-between here (she has her own plotline too.) She has to explain the situation to Kiefan and make him see that he needs to make some concessions to Ciara -- and she will to him -- in order to make this alliance work. 

• Climax, continued: Kiefan and Ciara manage to work this out without starting a war. 

• Resolution: Kiefan gets the military support he needs from the alliance.

Reading this now, it looks a heck of a lot like a standard romance plot. Note: There is no falling in love in this story. Feedback is welcome -- does this seem reasonable? What questions pop up in your mind?

If you have a plot sketched out and you'd like feedback on it, feel free to email that to: unicornbellsubmissions at gmail dot com. I will post them for comments. It won't be a crit, exactly, just a chance to see what questions your plot raises and whether the logic holds together.