This is K.M. Wyland and you're listening to the 179th episode of the word play podcast.

There's something about the Christmas season that always makes me especially glad to be a writer.

Nostaljia is part of it, no doubt.

All the great classic Christmas movies are probably a portion of the inspiration as well.

And of course the general beauty of the season with all the lights and decorations is always food for the muse.

It's also a season of Thanksgiving for me even more than Thanksgiving itself, as I give thanks for my God and Savior and time spent with my wonderful family.

It's one of the busiest seasons in my life, which means writing often gets pushed and shoved around to fit other people's schedules.

But maybe because of that very fact, writing is always one of the things I feel most grateful for in this period.

What's the most important moment in your character's arc?

The latest post in the video series on my blog discusses the turning point in your character's

journey toward inner transformation.

To watch it, visit my website at W.W. dot Helping Writers Become Authors.com.

New videos are posted every Wednesday.

And now I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast.

The third in the series structuring your

story's scenes. This installment is titled Options for Goals in a

scene. The story as a whole and every scene within it begins with a goal. Your character wants something,

something he will have difficulty accomplishing. What he wants frames the plot on both the macro and micro levels.

What he wants defines him as a person and by extension the theme of the book as a whole.

The possibilities for seeing goals are endless and very specific to your story.

Your character can want anything in any given scene, but within that universe of options, you must narrow down the desires expressed

within your scene to those that will drive the plot.

...