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Christina Baker Kline

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June 9, 2009 By bakerkline

Writing Tip #2: Four Basic Elements

writing spaceA novelist friend has an index card with these four words on it taped to the wall above the computer in his study:

CHARACTER
CONFLICT
CHOICES
CONSEQUENCES

Sometimes it helps to remember: it’s that simple.

Filed Under: Writing Tips Tagged With: character, conflict, creative process, Discipline, fiction writing, plot, writing a novel

COMING MAY 2026: THE FOURSOME

A literary historical novel set in Civil War-era North Carolina, based on a true family story and told from the perspective of Sarah Bunker, one of two sisters who married Chang and Eng, the famous conjoined twins…learn more

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