Quotes from Cheryl St. John

Death doesn't take away the impact they made on our lives or their importance to God. To be gone from here is to be present in glory. It doesn't feel like it now, but I assure you each day will get a little easier. Each week will add more distance from the pain.

The antagonists who evoke the most emotion are the ones who could have been heroes if they'd made better choices.

Goals, conflict, and motivation should be so specific that you can write them down in a few words.

Plot is the series of events that keep your characters together until issues are resolved at the end of the book.

Conflict must be personalized to the character. If you don't know your story people and motivate them, you won't have a strong conflict. A vague or general motivating force produces a vague and general plot. Being specific will increase the emotional intensity of your story.

The most efficient way to write a walk-on character is to use stereotypes, because the reader already has an impression. This, of course, depends on the length of your story and the importance of the character.

real life can be fascinating, it isn't as marketable as a tale with a plot.

Misunderstandings are fine and many of the novels we read start out that way, but misinterpretations between adults are easily discussed and cleared up.

Include just enough detail for flavor and interest but not enough to emphasize or single out a particular item above the importance it deserves. In other words, don't describe the shovel hanging on the garage wall unless someone is going to dig a grave with it later. An exception would be if your character is a neat freak and the garden tools on the garage wall are alphabetized—this would characterize.