An idea for a pivotal scene near the end of one of my Works in Progress popped into my head in the way home from work tonight. The story is probably 3rd priority right now but it was there so I had to get it down. I wrote over 2000 words as hubby cooked dinner. #winning
I can’t post it here because it would give away the two main twists in the tale…but I am of the opinion that spoilers don’t really matter as long as it’s a good story. Knowing where you’re going can make the journey there so much more enjoyable. I am not a fan of red herrings and I really don’t like surprises, deus ex machina or anything too good to be true. Perhaps I’m just bitter because the hot guy never sat next to me on a long haul flight when I was single. (A hot guy does now, but he’s my hubby. 😬)
I like my stories like my men; they have to make at least a little bit of sense.
I was listening to an interview with Australian author Michael Robotham today and he said there’s such a thing as too many twists. I have to agree; plus I don’t mind if I see the twist coming as long as the prose is well written. The Book Thief was predictable but in the way it’s predictable when you go to visit a friend and you know they’ll offer you something lovely to eat and some great conversation. Even Harry Potter was predictable but who cares?
The Dry, which was not exactly what you’d call predictable, had a handful of great twists that led into and fed off one another like a river system but still had tropes that you would expect from an Australian novel set in country Victoria. I picked the villain early on but not the final showdown but knowing who the baddie was didn’t reduce my enjoyment along the way. (In fact I couldn’t put the book down!)
So, no, I won’t post the penultimate scene from Mimi Gets away with Murder, the one where Mimi explains to her sister why she hates her enough to send her to prison for the rest of her life. One day maybe someone will even care.
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