A Writing Obstacle Course: Race to the End

Writing a story is a lot like running an obstacle course. It can’t be a straight line. To hold the attention and interest of readers it needs obstacles and problems to be dealt with along the way. Those problems need to build, creating an escalating reasons for a reader to finish the story/book.

Recently I spoke with a person who read my novel,Tasman-An Innocent Convict’s Struggle for Freedom, in one sitting. She said she got so engaged that she couldn’t stop until she discovered Ean’s fate. Her comments had me floating for days. It verified that I’d created an obstacle course for Ean that held her attention from the first page to the last.

Writing has many possible ways to build and insert obstacles in stories. Here’s one way to build a course similar to the ones I’ve created in all of my novels. Let me know if it works for you.

Ready?  Get Set! GO!