The days of Christmas Trees have officially begun. Each day I'll be posting a decorated tree from my house. Yes, my husband John lives in a forest worthy of Santa's North Pole.

I'm beginning with this trio. My mother bought the middle one, a fiber optic white poinsettia tree years ago. Its sisters were a recent yard sale find. How could I pass up five little trees for a dollar! You'll see their green brothers later.

Writing:

The challenge here is to combine Christmas trees with writing insights. Obviously the trio depicts the first law of fiction: There must be a beginning, middle and end. Taking that further, the middle is the bulk of the story. The beginning poises a question or dilemna. The middle works through the problem and the ending comes when the character, or characters evolve, the mystery is solved, etc. Like the beginning and ending of a good story, the two smaller trees reflect the other. They are alike, yet different.