I'm in Lurve

Look at that! I'm in love, and it's not even Valentine's Day. And the object of my affection is not Mr TR.

No, I have fallen for a brand new, shiny idea: my next novel, Watching Willow Watts, about a small-town girl who is catapulted to stardom after her YouTube video gets millions of hits. I'm in that honeymoon phase, where everything seems to be positively brimming with potential -- before you realise your beloved can't stop cracking his toes or terrorizing the neighbours with growling snores (oh, wait -- that is Mr TR).

As I sat down today to finally start plotting WWW, it struck me that as excited as I was, I'd forgotten how to plot the darn thing.

Uh-oh.

So, I thought I'd share my steps back to writing redemption. I'm NOT an expert (obviously), but asking these questions really helps me clarify what I want my novel's overall structure to be.

What does my protagonist think she wants?
What will stand in her way?
What will she learn and how will she change by the end?

Initially, Willow thinks she wants the stardom that's thrust upon her. I'll raise the stakes by making her whole village dependent on her fame, along with a sleazy agent with a dodgy contract; a crotchety busybody who's determined to bring her down; and the return of 'the one that got away' who can't relate to the new her. In the end, she'll learn that she doesn't need to pretend to be someone else to be happy.

Of course there are a zillion blanks to be filled in, but if I can just figure out the answers to those three questions, it makes adding the details much easier.

How do you get your relationship off on the right foot? By writing a synopsis first -- or just plunging right in?