Saturday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

ESTABLISHING AND SATISFYING PLOT THREADS

By: Chris Winkle

You might know the characters, themes, and setting in your story, but do you know which hooks are motivating your readers to continue? Each hook creates an open plot thread; readers are pulled in because they want to see them conclude. If you mix up your subplots or don’t close each one properly, you’ll end up with a cranky audience.

The Types of Threads

Threads are easy to tangle up because there are so many nuanced options, even for the same story. Let’s say we have a story about a little girl and a monster that lives under her bed. This story could have any of the following threads: 

• A threat: The monster is a danger to the girl and her family. The thread will open by demonstrating this threat to the audience. It will close when the family is either safe or eaten.
• Their relationship: The monster and the girl will slowly build a positive relationship with one another. The thread will open by demonstrating that they are hostile to each other. It will close by affirming their new friendship or sending them on their separate ways. 
• . . .

These are not the only options. A thread could use anything that feels unresolved. Usually it’s a problem in need of a solution. Regardless, it always has an opening that hooks the reader and sets their expectation for that thread and a close that satisfies those expectations, releasing the reader from the hook.

Any thread should have multiple options for closure.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Happy New Year! How Can We Create More Success? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/GFGAJ
2. The FREE Program Every Writer Can Use | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/GG79f
3. 5 Writing Resolutions to Avoid in 2015 | Juggling Writer http://ow.ly/GHxRg
4. Martha Alderson aka Plot Whisperer: Characters in Action-Driven Novels and Those in Character-Driven Stories http://ow.ly/GHyrm
5. Imagining Your Finished Book--A Three-Part (and Very Encouraging!) Brainstorming Exercise http://ow.ly/GHyBy
6. WOW! Women On Writing Blog: Proofing: Why You Should Read Your Work Out Loud http://ow.ly/GHzLZ
7. Mythcreants » Establishing and Satisfying Plot Threads http://ow.ly/GHAuO
8. jimbutcher: The Most Important Thing an Aspiring Author Needs to Know http://ow.ly/GHAPa
9. Karen Woodward: How Michael Moorcock Wrote A Novel In Three Days http://ow.ly/GHCqg
10. Anne R. Allen's Blog: What Did You Care About Most in 2014? Our Top Writing Stories. http://ow.ly/GHCFH
11. Creating a Production Plan for the Year—Some Thoughts - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/GHCPW
12. Happy New Year! How Can We Create More Success? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/GHCVj
13. How to Face Unafraid the Plans That You've Made - Copyblogger http://ow.ly/GHD9Q
14. Mobile, Content, Social, Search - What Will Make Retail Tick in 2015? - #infographic http://ow.ly/GHMFI
15. Writer Unboxed » You Say You Want a Resolution http://ow.ly/GHNVx
16. The Art of the Nonfiction Book Proposal - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/GHVFj
17. How Much Does Self-Publishing a Book Cost? | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/GHVP0

Happy writing and running, Kathy