Hi everyone,
One of my favorite exercises of Jodi's was her "what if" exercise. Though I've found it more of a challenge to think "outside the box" with my own stories than with other writers' stories, it has at least made me ask myself that question of my book and other short stories.
As a result, I made a fairly major change in my book. Sachi met her friend Reiko in the internment camp, and their relationship is a sub-plot in the book. I asked, "What if Reiko was a boy instead of a girl?" Well, it added a whole new sweetness to that sub-plot, something Jodi suggested the heavy subject might be able to use. Now, "Reiko" is "Sam," and though they are children, they have a crush on each other, and it makes their parting more poignant.
Have any of you asked "what if" with any of your stories, and if so, what changed?
Good writing!
Jan
Jan - nice change! That should pull out a whole new dimension.
ReplyDeleteI have done a BUNCH of "what if-ing" both in class and since I got back. My big change is that I have taken two separate romantic comedies and cross-polinated characters, so that the books can be two out of three in a SERIES. Romney helped me pencil out my third story line in the last minutes of class! HUGE changes, but I think it's going to work.
On a smaller scale...I re-wrote the opening chapter to Comedy of Err*rs and now the lead guy shows up on page 3 instead of 13.
Wow, Celia. I love that idea of "cross-polinating" characters. I'll have to see if I can do that with any of my stories!
ReplyDeleteI have always been a fan of short-story writers like Alice Munro and Annie Proulx, whose characters sort of roam from story to story. It's just a little extra that makes the reading more fun.
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