Random Thought: Worst marketing idea for emery boards ever: “Epstein Files”
OK, kids. Although I’ve been having a good time reaching into the archives and bringing new life and fresh eyes to some of my past tales, this week I dove deep into my pool of prompts and dragged one up from the bottom I thought I could play with. Shout out to Clint (who says he lives somewhere in Milan (that’s where they keep Italy, I believe). Grazie, Clint, for the fun suggestion.
 |
Meet the Sabertooths
“Mom, I’m bored,” Thor growled.
“Go next door and play with Grog.”
“His dad won’t let him out. He says all us Sabertooths are gonna follow the dinosaurs into extinction.”
“Wrong!” Mom smirked. “They died off because they had tiny brains and morons for parents.”
Dad yawned. “Maybe don’t “brain-shame,’ Hon. If anything, blame evolution. Or even that asteroid.”
“Ha. Fake news! Mommy and Daddy morons are what killed them.”
“But I don’t wanna be extinct,” Thor said.
Mom licked his nose. “With my big brain, you’ll always be safe. How ‘bout you and I go play in the tar pits?”
Prompt: Darwin Disappointment
| Please click here to rate this story and win valuable prizes (or not) |
NOVEL NEWS & NOTES…
Questionable Characters continues to evolve. I know some people prefer to lay it all out, trying not to censor themselves or cut stuff out as they go. I get it, but as I continue on, I’m realizing I will have WAY too much material in this draft, so instead of having to slash and burn major amounts, I’m already looking at scenes I can cut from the outline or places where I can get to the point of the scene quicker. In a few cases, I’ve figured out how to combine two story beats into one scene.
In writing, we talk about “Killing our babies.” These are scenes we just love, ideally because we can tell they’re written really well (or at least in our minds they are). The problem is that some of those darlings do nothing to serve the story. They don’t advance the plot. They don’t reveal character or anything new to the reader. They’re just fun. It’s hard to be brutal and cut scenes like that, but it is why God created a “deleted scenes” folder—a place where these scenes live, and a place I know I can come back to, for this story or another one down the road. I’ve got a few scenes that will no doubt wind up there. It hurts, but like they say, “You only hurt the ones you love.”
When next we meet, I’ll be coming to you from Left Coast Crime, a convention for crime writers and readers. Really looking forward to meeting fellow members of my scribe tribe.
Stay tuned!
Scotty out
PS: Wanna catch up on the posts you’ve missed? Click on the link that looks like a link. https://www.scottycornfield.com/blog/