My Grown-UP Christmas List, Part 2

1.      Plot that is not predictable – I don’t want my readers to see it coming before I want them to. I also don’t want them to say, “this sounds exactly like (plug any movie or book similar to your MS here).” –that comment is not a complement (well not for me).

2.      A Thrilling Middle – I don’t want my readers to put down the book and I know middles can sag if I don’t add drama/tension to that section. I want the middle to be as exciting as the beginning and the end. I want to add subplots to fill this area. And I want details the readers care about. I won’t add a new character in the middle of the book only for the purposes of filling space.

3.      A Great Ending – I don’t want a forced ending. One the readers scratch their heads at and say “what the ?!@! was that.” I don’t want the readers to know exactly what is going to happen but I want them to say, “Oh, I see how that all connects. That makes perfect sense. Why didn’t I see that?” Then I want them to reread the book to find out if there were clues leading to the ending (there should be, subtle ones) – no dues ex machine here. There should be a clear path to the ending.

4.      No Plot Holes – I don’t want my readers to get to the end and say, “What happened with the ___ she never told us what happened. Now the story doesn’t make sense." I don’t want to leave loose ends – frayed and almost falling a part. I want some ominous moments, some moments the readers will have to keep reading to understand, and some questionable actions on behalf of my protagonist and antagonist but my the end of the story, I want to have answered all of the questions. Or (if I'm writing a series – which I happen to be doing) I want to answer the major plot questions (and tie all loose ends) and answer most sub-plot questions. It will be good to leave the readers questioning some things but not major plot questions. I want to ensure it all adds up in the end and the readers don't feel cheated for their time invested. 

My son came home and song this for me. I loved it. Too Funny!!! Enjoy!

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!!!