What unique situations have occurred in the writingprocess of any of your novels? Perhaps, but not limited to,things like where what you planned changed, or the direction you thought
the story was on deviated or transmuted?
I have a couple of tales of when my writing group objected to something I wrote and I changed my story because they said, "You can't do that!
The first instance of this was in World of MIrrors (set in then East Germany) where a couple wanted to snoop around someone's house. The owner wasn't home, but his watch dog (a dog who formerly patrolled the Death Zone around East Germany) was. The dog pinned the couple down in the driveway. Didn't bite; didn't bark, but growled and threatened. The couple's so-called friend, arrived, saw their dilemma, and hauled off and shot the dog.
In the first iteration of the story, the dog died, and the friend told them to dump the dog in the harbor.
My writing group said: "You can't do that! You can't kill a dog!"
"But he's a mean dog".
Didn't matter. So, I changed the story. The dog was still shot and wrapped up in a tarp weighted down the rocks. In the new version of the story, the dog whined when the tarp was opened, and the couple realized he was only wounded. They had qualms. This presented a problem, because trying to explain to anyone about the dog would give them away. It was the middle of the night and they were parked on a sort of bridge by the harbor. A car stopped and asked if they needed help. They asked for the name of a vet. The driver passed on that information and they took the dog to the vet and rang the bell, leaving a wad of West Marks and the dog. Ran like hell. This led to some interesting further complications in the story.
2nd Verse. Another novel, this one Chased By Death, just published this month. Another dire situation. In the desert, the heroine, trying to protect two kids, faces a man with a knife. He is a very bad man who has killed many people and he has held her hostage for an entire day. He doesn't know she has a gun. In the first version, he threatens her and she shoots into the air because a helicopter is (maybe) about to land. The bad guy turns and runs toward the woman.
My writing group said, "No, she has to shoot him. He' could take them all hostage." So she shoots him. Stone cold dead. Helicoptet lands. Yada Yada. More satisfying because heroine has saved herself and the kids. Always better if the main character saves herself. In this day and age.
 |
| Suspense and a woman in jeopardy. |
The authors below no doubt have interesting tales. Read on.
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blo
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpre
Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/b
Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1JS
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.co
Posts
Can't help but agree with the writer group. Don't kill the dog. In my opinion he was doing his job not out of meanness but because that's how he was trained. Great change idea. Ditto for your heroine saving herself. The days of a simpering heroine are well in the past.
ReplyDeleteCritique partners can be great. I agree with their analysis and your changes. And yes, your new book cover is great...beautiful
ReplyDeleteBut Judy, the dog was still shot, just for doing his job faithfully. How unfair is that!
ReplyDeleteAdvice from people not involved in the writing is essential, isn't it? I am more than grateful to my group of beta readers who point out where I go wrong, reassure me through my doubts and suggest alternative ways of dealing with an issue.