This post was first published here on January 28, 2013. Every plot hinges on a central question. Posing the question at the beginning of the tale and answering it at the end is sound story architecture. Does that task make your head spin? It shouldn’t. It’s as easy as choosing a story skeleton. Let’s explore a few examples. 1) The Romance skeleton poses the central question: Will they or won’t they end up together? The answer had better be yes or a satisfying equivalent. The girl can find out guy A isn’t what she wanted after all because she found guy B, but this is not the genre for an I’m okay on my own ending. That story uses the Literary (or Women's Fiction) skeleton. Romance readers want passion and fulfillment and are very disappointed if they don’t get it. 2) The Mystery skeleton poses the central question: Who did it and will they catch him? The answer is yes . The criminal may escape at the last moment to torment the detective another day, but the case t...