By: Michelle Gunnin

One Halloween during my childhood, I was waiting in our backyard to go trick or treating. I was dressed as a scarecrow.  This was in the days when you made your own costume from what you had readily available. Our backyard had grass and straw, so I was literally stuffing myself when I looked up and saw a skeleton climbing our back fence.  My heart skipped several beats.  I froze.  My eyes were glued on the glowing bones which were rapidly coming towards me.  I was squinting in the darkness to try to get my mind to understand what I was seeing; my mind felt that I should run and instructed my legs to do so.  In tears as I raced into the house, I was about to tell my entire family to hide from the skeleton, when the back door opened and in walked one of my brother’s friends.  My skeleton had a name.  Randy.  His costume was store bought and therefore, the coolest one around because it glowed in the dark.  I was embarrassed that the terror I felt came from my belief that the skeleton was real and dangerous.

I tell you this little story to illustrate a point.  When you write, you start with your skeleton.  Your story has to have strong bones so that you can put some meat on them.  Many writers I know are afraid of skeletons.  They brainstorm their ideas, but then they jump right into the writing without a plan of any kind.  They fear the structure will dampen their creativity, and that somehow they should run from skeletons.  However, in hindsight, they will realize that there is no need to be afraid because a skeleton is your friend.