Mitchard & Slaughter
Where Holly and I had dinner:
For homework yesterday I wrote an even creepier short SHORT story about a woman who gets offed by her husband by getting dumped in the ocean (no ideas eh Gordon?).
Studying the structure of thrillers is really getting rid of all my pent up emotion let me tell you!
Today Karin Slaughter talked about knowing one secret your character has that the reader may never know.
Like they stole out of the collection plate when they were 10 and embarrassed in front of the congregation and that's why they are guilty every time they go to church...or they got a DUI, or they never actually graduated from college or...
you get the idea.
It was hugely helpful and I came up with a GREAT secret...and I'm never telling.
No sir.
Tooloose did the exercise as well.
MI ALIEN SPAZ MONKEEZ HAV A SECRIT:
THEY R NUT RELEE ALIENS AN THEY DON KNO HOW TO FLY.
SORREE.
What are YOUR characters' secrets?
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4 comments:
This is a great idea, and I want to get straight to figuring this out with the main character with whom I'm currently working. I think I always knew that this was true, but I never applied it consciously.
Thanks for sharing the retreat details, especially since I can't be at the conference this year. I hope you're having a blast! :)
Ooh how does that work, something that the reader should infer but never be told concretely, or just a 'secret secret' that the writer knows, to give the character an extra slant when writing about them?
"We all decided our instructors names would make a great law firm:
Mitchard & Slaughter" - OR private detective firm? I see them all kind of Hawaii Five O crossed with Charlies Angels.
Jen it's a secret only you as the author know - altho some of the secrets shared in class ended up as terrific additions to the plot!!
(I'm going to tell jackie and karin tomorrow what you said about a detective agency!!!)
I think it's wonderful that two authors from such different places can get together face to face. Hugs to you and Holly! Someday I'll be there, too.
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