Lightbulb Moments
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 11:08PM Once again, the time has slipped by. I've been playing with voice a lot. I've also been playing with different genres.
In working on the rewrite of a contemporary manuscript I'd written a few years back, I realized it needed suspense. There was a mystery in the background, but it had stayed in the heroine's backstory and never made it to the page. I tossed out most of the plot, but kept the setting and the characters I loved so much and started over. I recast the whole story with the mystery on the page.
I think it's breathing again, but time will tell. So now I'm in a connundrum about what kind of story it is. How to label it. Then I figured that wasn't my job. My passion is to write the story. When I find an editor for it, then marketing will take that over. I think it's still a contemporary with a mystery element. But that mystery element adds the excitement for me. Gives the story that little extra oomph that it needs to be really compelling. At least, I hope so.
I'm also trying my hand at a women's fiction. For some reason, older heroines are calling to me. So, I'm working on that story too. It's a nice contrast to the contemporary manuscript and makes it fun to move from one to the other depending on where my head is. I've never tried that before, but it seems to be working.
My local chapter had a day-long workshop with Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer and it was fun to sit there (having done retreats with both of them) and let their insights to the craft wash over me. I didn't need to write down everything they said because I'd heard them say it before. But that's when the lightbulb moments happen.
Here are a few of my lightbulb glimmers from that day:
Surprise is not suspense. Caring about character is what builds suspense.
Intent = theme
Movement of Story - X leads to Y. For example; King Lear - Blind trust leads to destruction.
Is the story about the attempt of the achievement?
On the first page, your protagonist must be in trouble, undeserved if possible, but not random.
Antagonist must be respected and feared and must be in as much trouble as the protagonist so the fight is big enough.
The trouble in Chapter 1 should track back to the antagonist.
Turning points are about what changes.
I hope those little tidbits provide some lightbulb moments for some of you. Keep on writing and thanks for dropping by to see what I've been up to.
Ardath
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