Even if you aren't one to pre-plan, this information can be helpful if you find yourself stuck as you are writing. Simply going back to these basic building blocks and thinking though a problem can get you past the sticky spots and get the creative juices flowing once again.

It helps you stay on track and move smoothly from start to finish when you have a good handle on exactly what your story is about.

Build a brief statement about the essence of your story first by choosing a "what if" or "suppose" idea that meets three criteria: It is genre appropriate (you don't want shoot-outs to be the core of "what if" in a romance novel. That would be more appropriate to the Western genre), it turns the lead character's life upside down in a negative way, and it captures your imagination, making it easy for you to develop a complete story wrapped around this idea.

Secondly, to complete this story idea, you need to have a story goal. This goal will be what the lead character, or protagonist, feels s/he must have to solve the crisis. Usually goals center on possession (a mother recovers her kidnapped child) or relief (a young man escapes the control of a domineering mother). There should be something at stake for the lead if s/he fails to reach the goal, and the odds should seem to be against his/her in the attempt to do so. Lastly, the protagonist should be acting out of some worthy motivation in order to engender reader sympathy. Such motivations may be: duty, love, justice, integrity, or honor.

Once you can sum up your "suppose" and the action the lead decides s/he must take to meet this challenge, you have the essence of your story at hand. Having this will help you weed out material that may sound good, but does little to forward the story. Every sentence in your story should somehow contribute to the telling of this character's pursuit of his/her goal as demanded by the problem at hand.

Viewpoint is the emotional focus from which you develop the action of the story. By knowing what a character thinks and feels, the reader identifies emotionally with that character and is drawn into the action of the story.

The character through which you project a story is the viewpoint character. The viewpoint you select will determine the amount of emotion and degree of drama that unfolds in your story.

So what are your choices for viewpoint character? The list can be extensive, but broken down into its most basic units you can choose:

This is probably the most frequently used viewpoint option, particularly for the short story. Using this option the author doesn't enter into the mind of any other character in the story except that of the single major character. This viewpoint can be presented in first person (using the pronoun I) or in third person (using the pronoun s/he). The advantage of choosing a single viewpoint character is immediate and strong reader identification. Introduced early, the readers identify with the character from the hook to the finish of the piece.

With this viewpoint option, the writer narrates the story from the point of view of a minor character about a major one. It is often called the narrator or observer viewpoint. Stories that come readily to mind that uses this method are The Great Gatsby and Moby Dick.

The narrator viewpoint can be helpful if the major character offers poor reader identity. Perhaps this is one bad dude, who is about to undergo a transformation. However, you have to get his rottenness across first, and this will make the reader dislike him intensely. If you tell the story from the viewpoint of someone the reader can identify with, then you can pull off the tale even with a main character that is disliked.

Sometimes a colorful background projects better through the eyes of a minor character. People don't usually walk around claiming how eccentric they are. So if your lead is eccentric, a minor character telling the story can describe the eccentricity better for the reader.

In a story in which the main character is not present in all scenes, a narrator viewpoint becomes necessary.

A difficulty in using this viewpoint is the danger of the author's slipping into another character's mind, especially the mind of the main character. In the narrator viewpoint, the writer can only relate what the narrator sees, feels, and perceives.

Multiple viewpoint, often called omniscient viewpoint, allows the author to write from the minds of all characters. Of course, digging into more minds means more words to write, so this viewpoint is seldom used in the short story format. If it is used, the characters are generally limited to two.

There are a few problems that the multiple viewpoint option presents to the writer. It divides reader identification. It can interrupt the continuity of the story if the transitions between viewpoint changes are not smooth enough. And it can weaken the suspense, if the reader knows what is going on in the minds of all characters. Multiple viewpoint must be handled with great care to be done effectively.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to only shift viewpoints when you gain more than you lose. If your story is less of a story told from one viewpoint than it would be when told from several, then opt for the multiple viewpoint.

Good example of a book in multiple viewpoint: Coming Home, by Rosamund Pilcher.

So how does a writer decide which viewpoint is best?

Some authors will write several paragraphs from each viewpoint of the characters involved and then choose which viewpoint seems to make the writing most exciting and vivid.

Another method is to hold each character up to the following 6 criteria, and see which one measures up to be the lead in your story.

1. Emotional impact: The viewpoint character supplies the "suppose" and the way s/he tries to satisfy that is the dominant emotion of your story.
2. Conflict: The crisis stems from the viewpoint character's traits, problems, and effort. Select the character with the most pressing problem to solve, the trait that provides the most struggle, and then put the other characters in the background.
3. Suspense: Tension is carried by a viewpoint character that is on the scene at all times. Decisions made by the viewpoint character create new problems.
4. Reader identity: The viewpoint character should offer the fastest and strongest identity to pull the reader into the action of the story.
5. Author message: The viewpoint character, through plot action, develops the author's message to the reader. This character has the most to win/lose by the outcome of the plot. This character also usually shows believable change by bringing one wrong facet or blind side of a basically good character into correct focus. This is generally done through dialog or thoughts of the viewpoint character at the end of the story.
6. Ability: The viewpoint character must have the ability to solve the story problem.

This may be where authors differ the most--the degree of planning they put into the story before they begin writing.

At the bare minimum, it is good to have an idea of the beginning and the end of the story. Know where the journey begins and the destination you are aiming to reach.

Others like a more detailed approach to pre-writing, without taking away from the joy of creating as they move through the story. Such writers will usually plan some sequence of action, how events will connect and how characters will interact and grow.

Rudimentary plot generally (but not always) follows the following path:

Beginning: Introduces the viewpoint character, the story problem, all characters and any needed background. Normally the beginning is about 1/4 of the story length.

Middle: The middle consists of rising action. The lead is now reacting to the problem, pursuing his/her goal. Good action will make the problem more complex or threatening. The lead will be called upon to do things s/he wouldn't ordinarily do. In a middle that maintains tension, there will be an increased sense of foreboding, and the reader will be anxious to see how on earth this problem that seems unsolvable will be resolved. The middle is normally 1/2 the story length.

End: In the end, the complication peaks at the moment where the order that characterized the lead's life at the story's outset is forever changed. In one way or another, the problem comes to a head, and is resolved. Following this there is the denouement. This portion consists of falling action. The consequences of the alteration of the lead's life are dealt with, and all story lines are resolved.

The last portion of pre-writing gets into character sketches. And we'll be saving that information for next week.