Inspiration Comes From All Angles

As you may all know I've just recently snagged the second season of Buffy and have been watching the shows every night, getting my fix. I enjoy the shows, like to remember them, or see ones that are new to me. But I definitely am getting some good pointers from Josh Whedon, the creator of the show. You can watched those special segments where there's an interview with Josh, and he explains something about why he did something in a particular show. He spoke about the Pivotal Moment when Angel lost his soul, and became evil again.

Pivotal moments are what make a story, and you want to know where to put them. I've often wondered if I put too many in, but a story needs a moment which feels of paramount importance. Something happens that maybe your characters can't return to the way things were before. They have to go forward.

This week, work on my third book continues. I knew that some back-tracking was in order. I had to create a Pivotal Moment, and reveal something early on. I usually like Sabrina to face two problems almost simultaneously. One is something that will involve her personally, and another one will draw her into a quagmire. In Beyond The Black Veil, Sabrina learns early on that her cousin, Lindee, is missing. The how is the interesting part, because while everyone else is thinking she's been abducted, Sabrina learns otherwise. Well, she's been abducted, but not by a human, but rather by a portal that sucks her into another world.

The second problem involves the two characters she meets right away when she pops in (for the second time), and a murdered woman is practically under her feet. Sabrina is sucked into this because she's a clairvoyant and speaks to the woman's ghost. She provides the clues to her murder, but as the story progresses and she tries to find Lindee, a whole lot of other things prevents her from going on with this, and before she knows it, she's too involved to not plunge on, only to be in a great deal of danger.

I love when a story comes together.

Have you been working on your Pivotal Moments in your book?