The Writing Exercise

[DarleneB]

When I read the instructions for the writing exercise I was daunted by the switch to the woman being the antagonist. Generally speaking, women don't get stirred to revenge on a firestorm of emotion. They exact it, well-planned, well-executed. So, my first question was: why would a women spend her time locked away planning this revenge knowing all of the ramifications? The answers I came up with were: love of a man, love/protection of a child or (I guess you could say love of) money. My immediate sense was this story was about the child. But what if the woman looks like the villain in the beginning but we find that he was all along.

So, the question became: what man would have the power to take a child from a woman and make her look like she was insane? I immediately ruled out a politician because with instant media today, anyone in politics can be taken down. Then I thought about the power behind a police badge, especially in a town or small city. That is where the story began. A little bit cliche but he was a fun character to create.

I wrote smugly (sorry Stephen) thinking I knew all there was to know about this story and the characters. But, 2000 words in I learned that she was not the person I thought she was. She is more cunning and evil than I even imagined her husband to be. He doesn't know this and neither does the reader. It will be a while before they do. I guess there are still quite a few more bones to be unearthed.

How do I know about her? Well, I have someone living in my basement too. She doesn't smoke cigars, but she is quiet. She just smirks when I am getting close. Today, she had a full-on smile.

This is just way too much fun!

[GNTLGNT]

Today, she had a full-on smile.

...and so did I when I read this...what a neat post...

[BGlenn]

This brings up a great point of discussion. How men and women interpret fiction. Both reading and writing. When my wife read my short story, she was firmly in Jane's corner until the very end and even after she read the last word I watched her cock her head to the side while she had an inner dialogue. She was certain that Dick had everyone convinced that Jane was crazy (ironically, so did Jane). Thanks for the post.