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Experts say there are only 20 or so master plots – that every story in the world is simply a variation of one of these plots.

I’m not sure that’s right in every case. I’ve read some fairly bizarre stories that seem to be wholly unique. But the principle is true. I think it would be safe to say that most stories derive from one or more of the age-old master plots. The fact is, certain stories show up again and again over the millennia and were around long before mankind ever wrote a word.

If you’re looking for a story to write, you’ll find a treasure trove of plot lines in those weird little stories you heard growing up: fairy tales. Thumb through The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm or The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales . (Great authors, playwrights and script writers have been finding inspiration and ideas in these stories for a very long time.) If you don’t find dozens of wonderful mythical themes and story lines to play with in the pages of these and other fairy tale tomes, you’d better check the vital signs of your imagination.

One last note: Fairy tales can be downright terrifying. I’m surprised some of them haven’t been labeled “For Adults Only” – especially the ones about mothers selling their children to wicked witches, parents trying to lose their children in the forest because they don’t have enough food to share with them, little girls being accosted by dirty old wolves … and that’s just scratching the surface.

In short, fairy tales are not for pansies.

Deadlines. Dreaded deadlines. Dastardly deadlines. I’ve never known a writer who likes them. In fact, all the writers I know – myself included – hate them. But, like headaches and the common cold, they are a fact of life for people whose jobs require them to write.

Though we detest deadlines, we should bow down in front of them and sing their praises. It is my firm belief, after years of writing, that few projects would ever be completed without deadlines. This particularly applies to the myriad books, plays, screenplays or other works that writers have been nursing along for years – some potentially great works that will never be completed, let alone published.  

So I implore you: If what you are writing doesn’t have a deadline, give it one … and move heaven and earth to meet it.  

If you are writing something for work, school or some other entity, deadlines are often set for you. If not, always set one – whether it’s an hour or a year in the future. Tack it down from the get-go. If you don’t, you might find yourself in a tight spot at some point down the road (e.g., you think you have at least two days to finish the job when it really has to be done by day’s end).  

Another mistake – a big mistake – is to agree to a deadline you can’t meet. Be realistic. Failure to meet a deadline can cause huge problems for you and others. It’s better to say no right at the beginning so you can plan contingencies before the emergency sirens go off.  

I was once asked to write a mammoth project for a billion-dollar corporation based in the Los Angeles area. Unfortunately, the project was far too large for me to complete by the deadline. Even if I had worked on the project exclusively for 18 hours a day, I could not have finished the text for the various pieces of the sales package in time to give to the graphic designers so they could do their thing, so the printers could do their thing, so the materials could be ready for the company’s international convention the following month.  

I hated to turn down the project. The money involved was tempting. But I realized that if I failed to meet the deadline – as I knew I must – the critically important printed materials would not have been ready for the convention. That would have placed the company in a devastating situation. I didn’t want to be responsible for that. Nor did I want to kill myself writing nonstop for several weeks and not be paid for it – as I knew I would not if I triggered a disaster of that magnitude.  

I did the smart thing: I declined the job, explaining my reasons. They said they still wanted me to do it, and asked if I thought it would be possible to meet the deadline if they had some of their in-house creative people assist me.  

We worked out a solution. The project was still a strain, but we met the deadline and everyone was delighted with the results. I was well paid and the company became a good and profitable client.  

Moral of the story: If you’re writing for work, school, etc., don’t ever commit to a deadline unless you’re sure you can meet it. If you think that might not be possible, admit it and either walk away to fight another day or work something out to make it possible.  

And if you’re writing for yourself, give yourself a deadline and make yourself honor it. If you don’t, you will be just another wanna-be writer with stacks of unfinished manuscripts that are doing nothing more for you or anyone else but gathering dust.

PS. Several of you have shared excerpts from your journals as comments to last Wednesday’s post. If you haven’t read these, you should.

PPS. Also, some wonderful comments to Monday’s Word Shot have been posted as comments. I think you’ll enjoy them. If you haven’t submitted your own, now would be a good time.

When speaking of real estate value, the slogan is “Location, location, location.” When speaking of the value of nonfiction writing, the slogan should be “Clarity, clarity, clarity.”

Granted, clarity is only one of many important elements of writing. But in my book (excuse the pun) it’s the most important. If you fail to make your written message clear, you might as well have stayed in bed.

Let me give you an example. This morning my daughter asked my daughter-in-law if she liked pumpkin pie. Her response was, “I like it more than Greg.” (Greg being her husband, my son.)

I wasn’t sure what she meant. I think she meant, “I like pumpkin pie more than Greg likes pumpkin pie.” But on the other hand, she could have been saying, “I like pumpkin pie more than I like Greg.”

If she meant the latter, my son is in trouble. I say that because my daughter-in-law is the kind of girl no one would want to lose, and being demoted in her affections to a position just below pumpkin pie would not bode well for him.

So remember: When you write, pay attention to what you’re saying. Unless you’re writing poetry or certain types of fiction (and sometimes even then), clarity is rule #1.