I mean I have a ‘Developing Your Plot’ class I’m giving this month and I’ll share it with you. Here’s slide 1, below.
Good Plot – The Cast of Characters
First, there’s me, the teacher character, Andy Zach. If you’re not familiar with my biography on this site, you can go to Amazon or to Goodreads and find out about me and my books.
Then there’s you, one of many student characters. What have you written? Are you writing? What will you write? Please share you plot/novel/work ideas with me and the class by commenting below.
That’s my big turkey stick. The carrot is, I will give a free ebook of Zombie Turkeys to one of the commenters!
Start commenting – NOW!
Good Plot – Lessons – Where Will You go with Your Idea?
You’ve got your great idea for your novel. What’s next?
Authors fall into a spectrum of two approaches. First, there are plotters, who plan out the plot of their book and then write to that plan.
Then there are ‘pantsers’, those who sit on their pants and type away until a book emerges–or not.
Then there are endless variations between the two. I’m firmly in the first group. If you want to learn the pantser approach, find another author! I can’t even imagine how I’d write that way, and I’ve got a good imagination.
Let’s take my first novel, Zombie Turkeys.I created a chapter outline of the book on my first day of writing it duringNaNoMo in November 2015.
Meet My Heroes from Secret Supers in Space. My book is FREE today and until December 25th at midnight.Get your copy by clicking here.
How do 7th graders get superpowers? What superpowers do they have? What kind of teens are they?
Find out in this post!
Meet My Heroes – Jeremy and Dan
“What are you doing, Jeremy?”
Jeremy using his telekinesis
Startled, I looked up from my computer and turned around in my wheelchair. My best friend, Dan, had slipped silently into my lab. I still thought of it that way, but we’d made it into the Secret Supers clubhouse almost a year ago. Dan’s round, brown face smiled down at me while his tall, wide frame loomed behind me. His dark glasses hid his blind eyes.
“I didn’t hear you come down the elevator.”
“I took the stairs. Your mom made cookies, so I came over. I could smell them from my house.”
“You mean, you could smell them from my mom’s thoughts?”
“And your’s and your dad’s. You were all excited, so I couldn’t help myself from taking a sniff from your mom’s nose. I didn’t snoop any further than that.”
“I know you respect everyone’s privacy with your mindreading power.”
“Except maybe yours. You did permit me to read yours anytime. But I haven’t read your mind about what you’re concentrating on. C’mon, tell your old friend Dan.”
“Don’t tell anyone. I want to surprise the Secret Supers.”
“Of course not. Now I’m dying to know!”
“I’m applying to Space Camp.”
“What’s Space Camp? I can hear the capital letters in your voice.”
I spun my wheelchair around to face him. “What’s Space Camp? It’s the greatest camp there is! We’re all bored out of our minds now that August has started and we want to do something. Space Camp teaches you all about our space program. You learn about astronauts and rockets. You go on a centrifuge and experience zero-g and moon gravity.
Meet My Heroes – Kayla
“Now I know, so we might as well let Kayla and Aubrey know.”
I glanced at my screen clock. “Ten thirty. I can call Kayla, but Aubrey’s at her summer baseball practice.” I speed-dialed Kayla.
“You don’t have to put her on speakerphone. I can read her mind,” said Dan.
I laughed. “You read my mind. I was ready to do that.”
Hello, Jeremy. Kayla’s voice sounded in my mind. Kayla had spinal meningitis and could no longer talk or walk without a walker. I felt sad when I heard her high mental voice, sounding just as she used to talk before losing it.
“Hi, Kayla. I’ve got big news for you and Aubrey: the Secret Supers are going to Space Camp!”
Sounds like fun. I assume it’s all paid for and our parents are on board?
“Right. I researched it, then my parents contacted yours, Dan’s, and Aubrey’s, and everyone agreed. Just now, I applied and got approval. We’ll be gone for a week.”
When?
“The last week in August, just before Labor Day.”
Now I have something to look forward to, instead of another sweltering day. How long does it last?
“A week. We arrive on the last Sunday of the month and leave on Friday.”
Kayla – Part 2
I suppose you want me to tell Aubrey. I’ll give her the message to come over to our Secret Supers room, and we’ll all surprise her when she comes in.
“Great idea, Kayla!” I grinned.
Dan’s head snapped up from the phone and then he leaned back down. “You can tell her now. Her practice was canceled because of a thunderstorm. Boy, is she grumpy!”
“Baseball’s the love of her life,” I said. “A new adventure will cheer her up.”
All right, I told her to meet us there. She’s riding her bike straight from practice.
Dan placed his hand on his head like he does when he’s listening telepathically. “Uh, oh, Kayla, you’d better hurry. She’ll beat you here.”
I didn’t think of that. Mom’s busy at work. I can’t interrupt her, and I can’t bike anymore.
I straightened in my wheelchair. “Let me give you a lift—literally.”
Now you’re reading my mind, Jeremy. I was just about to ask you for help. Are you sending your flying car?
“Nope. Just put on your Secret Supers outfit and I’ll fly you over.”
“I’ll put on mine. It’s here in my backpack.” Dan slid it off his shoulders.
I hadn’t noticed Dan’s backpack. I turned to my phone. “We’ll make it a full club meeting. This’ll be the first time we’ve worn the new costumes your mom made for us, Kayla.”
I modeled mine for Mom. They fit a lot better than the store-bought ones we had, and they’re much sturdier. The old ones were pretty scuffed up.
“Something about fighting ten-foot robots does that.” Dan grinned.
I yelled from the bathroom as I dressed telekinetically, pulling the tights over my legs twisted by a lifetime of cerebral palsy. It did fit better than the old uniform. Even the boots went on better. I loved the material I selected. It was completely air tight and waterproof. It fit beautifully with the other secret enhancements I’d put in. I wondered when I should tell the others about them.
Of course—
THUMP! THUMPITY! THUMP!
I don’t need to read minds to know that’s Aubrey. No one else pounds as she does down the stairs.
The door to the clubroom burst open. “TA-DA! I’m here. I came here at the speed of light, on a bicycle.”
Coming out of the bathroom, I saw Aubrey’s tousled blond hair peeking out of her baseball cap. Sweat beaded her broad forehead. Her black mask and red Secret Supers uniform clashed with her green ball cap. Instead of black boots, her prosthetic legs went to her knees.
I smiled at her. “Aubrey, did you notice how much better these new uniforms fit?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t bind me at all when I run or bike. I could wear it all the time. It’s easy to get on and fits nicely around my stumps. Now tell me what the big news is, Jeremy. Kayla wouldn’t tell me anything!”
This book could stand on it’s own but in order with the series. Space camp at it’s finest… with an actual space adventure. These are definitely geared for elementary age kids on to about middle school readers. They are a clean fun read with kids with disabilities with powers but being pretty “normal” which I loved. I have a blind daughter and people constantly underestimate her and her abilities or assume she has other disabilities (mental, hearing etc.).
Andy Zach’s writing takes flight in Secret Supers in Space, propelling disabled teen superheroes Jeremy, Aubrey, Dan, and Kayla into a cosmic summer adventure. Narrator Khai Lannor brings the characters’ energy and determination to life, making this audiobook an intergalactic joyride for fantasy fans of all ages. Buckle up and join the Secret Supers in their gravity-defying mission – this exhilarating journey is one you won’t want to miss!
Do you want an autographed book? I’ll mail it directly to you with free shipping and I pay the taxes! Click here to get yours. My shipping may not be the same day, but at least it’s free–for you.
My first series, ‘The Life After Life Chronicles’ begins withZombie Turkeys.Turkeys are always good for the holidays. I have people eating zombie turkeys in the book–and vice versa. It’s .99 for a book of laughter at your favorite zombie tropes. See below for some excerpts. Click here to get Zombie Turkeys.
My second series I wrote for my disabled daughter Tori who wanted a story with a flying wheelchair. The main hero, Jeremy Gentle, has cerebral palsy and an electric wheelchair like Tori. And he gets telekinesis and can fly in his wheelchair.
My last blog post told you of Paranormal Privateers, my wild, comical adventure tale of a family of zombies on a superyacht with a letter of marquis from the President to attack all US enemies–with plausible deniability. (See here if you missed it and its excerpt: Imagine You’re a Privateer. What Is It Like?
Tom turned on all the floodlights in the yard and saw that the traps he had at the doors to his barn had already been activated. These traps killed more gruesomely than the chainsaw one, but they weren’t as noisy. These traps were a series of wooden boxes, three feet on a side. A turkey-sized hole, led to a turkey-sized tunnel, led to a turkey-sized trap door, led to a wood chipper. The chopped turkey went from the wood chipper into a bin.
Tom had joked to his wife he could sell this as turkey sausage.
* * *
It’s What’s for Dinner–and breakfast!
Sam said, “Do you mind if I tell people about your zombie traps?”
Betty smiled grimly, “Not at all. My brother Jerry helped Tom make them. Put them on your website, and we’ll sell them to other turkey farms in Illinois—along with our sausage.Tom joked about selling turkey sausage. Maybe I’ll really do that. It’d be like a way of getting even.”
“I’ve sure that won’t be FDA allowable.”
“I know that. I’ll sell it as genuine zombie turkey sausage, not suitable for human consumption. A novelty item, like canned unicorn.”
“Hmmm. You can advertise on the Midley Beacon YouTube site for free, if we get half the profits.”
“That’s too high. Make it a quarter, and you’ve got a deal. A widow’s got to live.”They shook on it.
Any newsletter subscriber gets free audiobook codes–as long as they last. Click here to get yours.Don’t wait until they’re gone!
Do you want an autographed book? I’ll mail it directly to you with free shipping and I pay the taxes! Click here to get yours. My shipping may not be the same day, but at least it’s free–for you.
