A breakthrough

The most amazing thing has happened.

For the last two years, I've been struggling with a story. I write it, get it cleaned up, send it off only to find agents are having too easy of a time rejecting it.

Normally, I mull the situation over, try to make a minor adjustment or two, so I can retain the flavor and tone of the story. It's a long drawn out process, revising and getting a story that's not working to work.

I've had to fast track things because of personal things going on. There's a good chance that toward the middle of September I'll have to make major adjustments in my schedule, among other things. So, being the writerly type person that I am, I wanted to take two of my many bad manuscripts and outline them. No, not the Roman numeral outline like in high school. A writerly outline. With lots of details.

Since one of the stories required a detailed timeline for the last thirty years, since events from thirty years ago are still impacting the characters, I put my butt in my chair and my fingers on the keyboard. I wrote a very detailed timeline of events for thirty years. I was so smug with myself. Isn't this great, I said to myself as I patted myself on the back. See, doing an outline doesn't hurt, does it?

So, everything was set up for "the story." All I had to do was a brief outline of current day events after the "life changing event" happens.

Okay, here's where I'm going to just state what the "life changing event" is. The protag's husband isn't dead. It's quite a shock to her. He disappeared from their boat. No body was found, but every one assumed he was dead. Trust me on this one, but normally when a person goes missing from a boat in Alaskan waters, they're dead. And it's not unusual to never find a body.

But I've always wanted this to be a story about the protag and how she deals with the news where she learns she's not a widow, but received the golden dumping of all time. In other words, the disappearing husband was an offscreen character. I finally relented and in the latest version I allowed him a half page phone call to the protag. But other than a flashback here and there, he was pretty invisible. It wasn't his story, it was hers.

So, let's go back to Saturday. I'm working on the story outline after I finish the backstory timeline. All a sudden, like when the proverbial light goes on, the proverbial light did light up. In a very spotlightish way.

There was this huge flaw in the story. I heaved a sigh that rattled the house. The man who allows me to wash his dirty dishes finally asked me what was wrong. I told him that I'd found a little road bump...that was the size of Denali. Then I aired my teeny tiny little problem. He agreed, that now that I'd mentioned it, he wasn't seeing the motivation either. He tossed around a few ideas. Unfortunately, they were as lame as the ones I'd already tossed about in my writerly brain.

Next, I emailed a writer friend who read the latest version. I told her that I was having a real problem with one little plot point...all writers know which one it is...the one that supports the premise and theme of the whole freaking story. So, we brainstormed ideas. Alas, I grasped a couple, but deep in my writer's gut, I felt their lameness.

I'd finally arrived at the special place writers try to avoid. I was smack dab in the middle of Contrived City.

I pulled up the timeline/outline. I wrote two words..."what if?". I really didn't want to bring the balding blondish, pudgy, crossdressing, aging very badly version of Chuck Norris, aka, her husband, onscreen. But my what if question was, "what if she learns he's alive because he returns to Homer?"

I sent an email to my writer friend to ask her what she thought of the idea. As she said, it could be interesting and would be a different type of kettle of fish to fry.

So, I paged down on the timeline/outline and decided to play with him and her in a present day scene. One where they are physically in the same place, seeing each other, up front and personal.

From the protags first reaction to seeing her non-dead husband I knew she'd been lying to me. Little things. I questioned why the first thing she noticed about him, besides he wasn't decomposing, was the dark stuble on his face. Dark as in black with a little gray mixed in. For some reason, I was having a problem with a balding blondish, pudgy, crossdressing, aging very badly version of Chuck Norris having that shade of stuble. But I went with the flow. What the hell? Maybe I'd learn something.

Well, yeah, I did. He's more like an aging very nicely and very manly man slightly younger version of Sam Elliot. Oh, and she decided to tell me that maybe her timeline was off by a little bit. Instead of walking out on her sixteen years ago, leaving her to raise their three kids by herself, he disappeared five years ago. The youngest was finishing up her junior year of high school.

I realize if you're reading this and aren't a writer, this next portion won't make any sense. In fact, it will sound a little to a lot insane. But I've kept the story in the protag's pov. She's telling the story, but now that Jack is physically in the same location, it's amazing how different it is from the versions she told when he was safely in the background.

I let her ask the questions she wants to ask, verbally and internally. It's very telling the one question she hasn't even thought to ask or mull over. It's the first one every one asks me when I tell them even this much about the story.

Who's brave and willing to post or email me what question she hasn't and won't ask him?

Oh, how is this new, completely changed version going? I've never written so fast in my life. I'm ready to start on page 63. Yes, I started this late Sunday afternoon and here it is, Wednesday and I'm ready to start page 63. Of course there's a lot of dreck in those pages. Give me a break. But the story is moving forward and finally the characters are acting as normal people would.

Good morning, John.