Plot is CRUCIAL!

What is a story without a plot? It's PB&J without the bread. A picture without a frame. A world without life.
Long story short, you can't have a a good novel/short story/poem without a plot! A course of action that all your characters come to follow. If you have seen the movie Jumper, starring Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson, it really has no plot, but it was a good movie. For me, when the ending of the movie finally came around, I felt as though the action was not complete. That there should have been more to the story, although there wasn't. They never made a sequel either. It just left you hanging, and confused.
Now, if they had thought a little bit more about the PLOT LINE, Jumper would have been SOOOOOO much better. Example, if David would have told his dad about his ability, and gotten his dad mixed up into it, then another persons life would have been on the line. The action would have been greater.
Same with your story. Your plot doesn't have to be multiple paragraphs or pages. It could be just a sentence. Try starting with a "what if...?" and then fill in the blanks. We tried this method in Creative Writing, and I have got to say, out of everything else that I had done trying to improve my plot, this simple one made it so EASY.
Let's have a few examples:
1. What if...a young girl was walking her dog and fell in love with her new neighbor?
Your story will be the answer to that question.
2. What if a high school scholar suddenly sprouted wings?
Yeah, it's kinda out there, but you can make it work. Believe in yourself and your writing! If you don't, it's sad to say, but you won't make in anywhere in the writing world. You'll never get passed the first stage.
So try this method and tell me how it goes. Remember, plot is just the beginning. But it is CRUCIAL.

Dialogue

Heya, it's Kate again, coming back to chat with you about dialogue.

As you all know, dialogue in reality is chatting with one of your buddies or flirting with your future guy/girl (or anything else that involves words). But, in writing there's two kinds of dialogue. Indirect, which is not a quotation but rather a rephrasing or summary of another person's words. Example: Mrs. Isles, a local medical examiner, reported that she saw a man dressed in black enter her home.

See? The lack of quotation marks hints at the indirect quotation. It's telling your audience something a character is saying, without actually having them say it.

Now direct quotation is the kind you usually see. Example: "He jumped through the window," Mrs. Isles reported to WFM news, "he was in all black." This one really doesn't need an explanation.

In your poem, short story, or novel you should have a nice balance of both direct and indirect. It's the plot to a good book. If you are having trouble with dialogue then try some of these hints:

1. Stay with your stream of consciousness. Meaning if something comes to you, no matter how cheesy or stupid it may sound, write it down. There is always room for revision.

2. Don't force your characters dialogue. If you can't come up with anything, don't write anything just to put it there. Reread what you already have until you get a spark.

3. Make it relevant. If your novel is talking about lightening striking down on them, don't write something totally out of character like "I wonder if Stacy is cooking dinner again tonight. I'm starving." It just doesn't make sense.

I hope these tips help in any way shape or form, if it doesn't tell me. If it does, tell me.

Later,

Kate.

Strange?

Well hello lovely readers, maybe I should introduce myself. I'm Kate, an up-and-coming YA (young adult) writer. I love writing paranormal, fantasy/si-fi, I specialize in characterization and plot action and I'm always open to advise.

The novel I am currently working on is named NightHunter (about a young estranged teen named Carter Anberly whose parents and brother were murdered only a few years before. But that's not the only thing that's weird. Carter is the second generation of something that can only be described as Strange. Hosting beautiful silver wings and living on the run she stumbles on--or rather is tracked into--a whole other world. Carter will realize that having wings isn't the only Strange thing about her.)

I also have a twitter account if you would like to add me, and also a fanfiction account where all my first writings are.
Twitter: Kthibodeau14
FF: Eyeliner-Vampyer

So, tell me about yourself. Your name, age, if your working on a novel or just looking for ideas. What are your strengths, weaknesses? Ask me for advise and I shall answer.