Random Thought: It’s Car Week in Monterey, so you know what that means—no driving around here for us. Thanks, irony!
I rarely get prompts from relatives, and this week is no exception, so thank you, Clint Cornfield, for dropping this prompt on me a while ago. I would’ve used it sooner, but since Papa didn’t raise no nepo baby, you get the same horrendous customer service I give all the other palookas who pretend to read this thing. Love you too, Schweetie!
Let’s get to the Story of the Week
A Look in the Mirror
“What’s up, Froot Loops?”
“When you gonna stop calling me that?” Jasmine asked.
“When you stop being a serial dater.” Emma said.
“Not true.”
It was true. Instead of stamps, Jasmine collected boyfriends.
“Speaking of … Since I dumped the attorney and the architect, my inventory’s light. I’m overdue for something exciting.”
“I know a guy. Could be your twin.”
The next week, Jasmine met him at Starbucks. “You’re CIA?” she said. “Wow. I’m just a part-time actor. I don’t have any spies.”
“An actor, huh?” The spy stood. “Too bad. I just added one of those to my dating inventory. Sorry.”
While I wait (im)patiently to get back my editor’s notes on the latest draft of Questionable Characters, I’ve had time to do some other writin’ and thinkin’. One of the things I was noodling over was a short story I wrote a couple of years ago. It was an ode to noir stories about an ex-cop turned P.I. I remember liking the way the eight-page story came out, and much to my surprise, when I reread it, it wasn’t actually half bad. It was all bad. No—not true. The margins looked good.
In reality, I enjoyed reading the first-person story (something new for me). I went back and made some changes, almost as if my writing has improved a bit since I wrote the first draft. I’m toying with sending it to an editor, but if you’re interested in having a look, just let me know and I’m more than happy to share and see what you think. If you ask me via the Google rating form, you’ll need to tell me who you are since all comments are anonymous.
One other thing before I let you go… I’ve been considering opening my novel with a prologue. Since everyone says if you’re writing a murder mystery, you got to get to the murder early, I’m thinking of a quick scene where the body appears and then I jump into chapter one with something like, “TWO WEEKS EARLIER.”
What do you think? Do you like novels that throw you into the story from page one, or do you prefer a slower, more gradual opening where you get to know the characters and their world before the inciting incident happens? If you have a sec, I’d love to get your take on this one.
As always, thanks for listening.
Scotty out
Want to catch up on all the stories you missed? Here’s the LINK:
