A plot based on the fish out of water scenario follows a character who steps into a situation, community or lifestyle that is totally different from his or her customary environment. The move may be voluntary, as in the story of Orpheus, who deliberately journeys to Hades to rescue his

When you write a story, creating three-dimensional characters can be a challenge. You may choose unique, evocative names for your characters and provide detailed physical descriptions of each, but you must instill them with human qualities to truly bring them to life. Your readers identify with characters that have human

In 2004, Christopher Booker published  The Seven Basic Plots—Why We Tell Stories, an iconic book that was 34 years in the making. In it, Booker identifies seven common story lines that he believes encompass the plots of virtually all of the stories ever written. Conventional stories share an underlying structure