I love a story that makes me laugh, not at someone, but at the ridiculousness of the situation, or at a perfectly timed comment. And when I’m in the right mood, I love a story that makes me cry.

I like my comfort zone. It has cozy furniture and a nice view out the window. If I had my way, it would never change. But occasionally, life kicks out a wall and forces me to add a room. This month it’s been in the form of a website.

I have applied a number of Cleaver’s recommendations, but what I come back to again and again, is what he calls The Big Five, the five elements that every successful story, and scene, need. They are: