Although most budding novelists display exceptional writing skills, I have learned that their most failure has been in weaving together an appealing plot - good beginning, middle and end.

I recall from a few decades ago a "novelist's grid" published in Playboy Magazine. Some of this was satire, but the fact was that the grid was a perfect step by step process for any novelist to formulate a plot. If anyone can find that grid and post it herein, s/he will be doing many writers here a great service.

The satirical intent therein wasn't that the author was attempting to make all novels appear like Danielle Steele. Certain humorous elements were incluced such politically-correct gimmicks as displaying villans as "neo-nazis," which hacks in the TV industry in particular continue including to this day. (There is nothing whatsoever wrong with showing the demographic group of true villans as who they are (Islamic radicals, inner-city thugs, or political demagogues of any stripe.)