The Geiger Counter

Whether you're writing factual or fictional material, your goal should always be to make the reader want to read one more sentence, one more paragragh, one more page.
It's nearly impossible to make every sentence spell-binding - but it ought to happen every once in a while.
Here's a test you can perform on your work before anyone else sees it. Read over your work, concentrating only on content - no proofreading at this point. As as you're reading each line, follow along on the lefthand margin with a pencil. Start at the top of the page and slowly draw a line downward as you read each line. When you come to a sentence or word or phrase that jumps out at you, jiggle the pencil to create a wavy line and then move on. Do the same thing the next time you find a really good word or phrase. When you get done, hopefully you won't have a straight line from top to bottom on the page. If you have a few jiggles, take a look at what's on those lines that made them special. That's the Geiger Counter approach to good writing.

So what?

A well-known journalism axiom tells us to cover the who-what-where-when-why of what we're writing about so that we relate the whole story.
Actually, stories can be told many different ways. If they all followed the same formula, they would lack the creativity to keep them interesting. What the who-what-where-when-why process does is to keep them objective. Strictly adhered to, they keep the writer's opinion out of the work.
There are two other important questions to consider. If you want to get the reader excited right away, write as if your opening line is "Guess what?"
The other far more important question is "So what?"
You can cover the entirety of the who-what-where-when-why but at the end, if the reader says, "So what?" you haven't accomplished a thing.

You're in charge

Donnie Osmond, the singer who has also done live theater, said a producer told him something he's never forgotten. He said, "the theater is where people come to dream - and you are in charge of that dream."
The same can be said for readers - your readers. They want to be informed, entertained, convinced or inspired. Any way you look at it, they want to get away from the rest of the world for a while. In other words, they want to dream - and you're in charge.

Plot development

1. Nothing should happen at random.
2. Plot = Characters plus adversity.
3 At least two characters should want something.
4. Conflict = Two sets of wants colliding.
5. The plot begins long before the story begins (Look at a photo and imagine what happened leading up to the photo).
6. Foreshadow some of the action. (Give hints; drop gold coins for the reader to pick up.
7. Plots always involve relationships.
8. Thrust - Which character takes charge?
9. Counterthrust - the conflict.
10. The Outcome - the reader must have a sense of fulfillment.
Want to practice developing a plot? Here are two sure-fire story ideas:
The blessing becomes a curse - or - the curse becomes a blessing.