The short story I’m writing collided with real life on Friday. There I was, sitting in a subway car, looking over my pages. Nothing unusual about that, right? I was reading through the scene that takes place at a blues club, when a man stood up a few seats away and positioned himself in the center of the car. I knew I was going to get a musical performance whether I liked it or not.
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The other day a writer friend and I discussed Robert Johnson, the late, great blues player, and his legend of making a deal with the Devil at the Crossroads to play well. Talking about it made my fingers itch to get to the computer keyboard and continue working on a short story I’m writing for an anthology.
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“I’ve changed my mind—I don’t want to be the villain.”
“But I’m not in love with her.”
“I’d rather kill them than save them.”
To any nonwriters out there, understand this: my characters can (and do) change even in the midst of my writing them, even when I’ve already got the idea what they’ll be. I can’t explain it, that’s just the way it is.
To writers out there, I’m sorry to say that when it happens, when it alters your plot and the surrounding characters who are then required to react differently to this new facet of your character (let’s call him Smith), there’s no choice. If the change rings true, you’ll need to revise your story.
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A fellow writer asked me to copyedit her latest cookbook. Although my editing background is in a different field, she knew I loved to cook and loved reading cookbooks. She handed me a checklist and away I went, happy to immerse myself in the world of food.
Until I realized that no matter which recipe I read, even those including ingredients I wouldn’t eat, I was constantly reaching for things that were sweet or salty or spicy. And extra portions of…well, anything. The numbers on the scale crept up.
You’ve written a book. You want readers, right? Of course you do.
So you market (hopefully before your book is available). You use social media to get the word out and you’ve created a website or blog page. You want your site to be exciting and popular. So you dazzle with lights and colors and action.
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You might be making a big mistake.
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