So. In order not to go mad as I wait for my agent friend to read my manuscript, I have been busy rereading my next story, “Love in the Time of Colic.” I made few corrections—things like getting rid of “markers” in dialogue, like “he said” when it was perfectly clear who was talking. But I didn’t do much, I just wanted to read it in its entirety.
I still love the characters…but I think they need more drama.
Hence me looking to create more conflict, or become a literary drama queen. Don’t get me wrong, there’s SOME drama, it’s not all butterflies and moonbeams by any stretch. But I think our heroine and hero—the free-spirited Peyton and the straight-laced, scientific Mason—even though they are intrinsically at odds, need more to keep them going at each other.
I think of it as a sea they float upon. Their little ship is on too-tranquil seas and that simply won’t do. I need to start a tempest. Boil the ocean. (This is a business term I have only just met, usually said in the negative—“we’re not trying to boil the ocean”—but really, who wants to boil the ocean? Wouldn’t that be bad?)
This challenge is going to take some time, I think. I have a few ideas—Elizabeth, my California reader and dear friend—suggested another horse plotline, which intrigues me. Or I can look at what’s already there and pump up the volume, or were Emeril helping me write, add some BAM!
This is not a new issue for me, as I tend to go for more subtle stories and scoff at what I consider to be overly dramatic plots. I likely need to do more than I think is enough and I’ll hit the right note.
And if all else fails, I’ll throw in some zombies.
