Crime tip for assassins: Dining at McDonald’s can draw a McFlurry of cops.

Welcome back to another Thursday of story-telling and talking about story writing. We’ll start with the Story of the Week. Contributing our prompt for this post was blog follower I.B. Closebye. Apologies, I.B. if it took a long time to get around to your prompt, but since there are lots of contributors, we have to spread them around, right?

Making a Deal With the Deviled Egg

Madge had a nasally voice that was so painful to listen to, even when she wasn’t complaining (which was rare), it sounded like she was.

As she often reminded people, she was the most knowledgeable, successful, and connected person in town.

Although she had been intentionally excluded from the luncheon, she managed to sneak up behind the large table as the others discussed her.

“I caught a bit of the conversation, ladies,” Madge said. “I bet if I picked up the check, attitudes would change.”

“I don’t think so,” one woman said. “But I guess we’ll find out. Have a seat.”

Prompt: Yapped like an impatient chihuahua

Novel News & Notes:

The end is in sight. That’s right, kids. In the latest draft of my debut novel, Questionable Characters, I have reached the chapters known collectively as the finale! After spending the past several months outlining and writing, my three main characters are now on their inevitable collision course. It’s an exciting time, as I take the single lines I wrote months ago and find ways to blow them up into complete dramatic scenes. In some cases, my earlier ideas weren’t big enough, or maybe I just found a better, more believable or more significant idea. Since I’m not married to the earlier plan, I have no problem deviating from the outline. In fact, I think it would be a major mistake to blindly follow something that sounded good at the time, but now that the story has been fully fleshed out, may not work at all.

Even though the action is definitely ramping up, and I’m making the chapters progressively shorter to enhance the page-turning effect, I find myself slowing down, becoming more deliberate as I write each scene. Earlier set-ups are being paid off, mysteries being revealed. Some of this requires my going back to see exactly what was written before. To locate those places, I turn to the search bar utility (my new best friend) as I do my best to avoid committing the unforgivable sin of continuity errors. The reader (or if I’m lucky, readers—plural) deserves better.

I just hope I can deliver.

Stay tuned.

Scotty out

BONUS CONTENT: A shot from last weekend’s holiday event at River House Books in Carmel (with fellow writers Evan Pellervo and Mary Smathers). Thanks, Julie Tully for hosting!.