Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Life Changing Event (LCE)

Life Changing Event

Yesterday I went to a Fly-In in Thorp. The landowner has an RV Park there for airplanes, racecars and boats. It is one of his passions in life that includes Ultra-Lite airplanes. He has his own runway.

Anyway if you think you have grass mowing challenges you have to see what this guy is up against. Somehow he manages it and the park looks like a golf course. The runway is like a putting green.

While I was there I noticed a fellow with a box next to his airplanes with a “For Sale” sign over some items inside. I had been looking for a couple of “Sixty” size glow motors and I picked two up at a good price.

Our club was well represented and a couple of the members helped me fine-tune my new trainer. It flew great.

Today I wanted to take Linda to see the Eagles in Minnesota but it rained. We’ve decided to go to the movies instead. We will be eating at Cracker Barrel, my favorite restaurant.

One of the things I stress in my class is the Life Changing Event (LCE) that most novels have. This concept seems to be giving them more difficulty than it should. The idea is that early on this LCE happens and it changes the Central Character’s (CC) life. Duh! You must be thinking, How hard is that?

It is hard because it can also be subtle. It doesn’t have to be a disaster or a personal trauma. It can be as simple as a new roommate or an unexpectedly pleasant date that leads to something more. It is not something that the Central Character simply copes with but rather an event that changes their lives. That last sentence tells it in a nutshell. It involves the CC, it comes early in the novel, it changes the direction their life would have taken and has a profound effect on their characters. Most of the time it is self-evident when it happens but often we don’t realize it at first and it only becomes obvious in retrospect.

So now you know what an LCE is… if you didn’t know already.