One of the first rules my first boss ever taught me was to have no surprises. I took it to heart and made a career out of making plans and contingencies for contingencies. When my path veered towards writing, I quickly realized that it was the first rule I needed to break.
Whether we’re sitting through Inception, watching an episode of Fringe or reading a novel, we want one thing: To be presented with something so unexpected that it makes us throw our heads back, gasp, and wonder what’s going to happen next.
As a writer, I want – need – the experience of writing a book to be the same way. This is not something that comes naturally to me. I prefer my life to be curve ball free. I’m uncomfortable with every shade of out of the blue. I realize though, that if I knew exactly what my characters were going to do or where each turn of the story would go, I wouldn’t have the will to finish the novel – and neither would the reader.
Writing has taught me to be more tolerant, if not more appreciative of the unexpected in real life. Like plot twists, I suppose the universe throws them at us to keep things interesting and to keep us from skimming through our life’s pages. Surprises, good or bad, send a tremble though the normal, making us pay attention to the moment we’re standing in. They unsettle us, forcing us to regain our balance by taking a step forward.
What surprised you today?
p.s. My own surprise: My book cover! (But that, my friends, will have to wait for another post…)
6 comments:
Life is full of surprises and you are one of them! We can hardly wait for the surprises in your upcoming novel.
Deseando un libro lleno de sorpresas !
I was surprised yesterday when a middle school reading teacher ask me to participate in their annual Authors and Appetizers event. After explaing that my crime novel, RIVER BOTTOM BLUES was far from being age appropriate, she said it was 'OKAY', that they wanted their students to meet authors as the 'real' people that they were and to just share my writing experience with them. Cool!
EQ - Thank you!
Ernesto - I hope you won't be disappointed :)
Ricky - That's awesome!!! Do come back and let us know how the event goes!
Sam, oooh, they sent it to you already?? So exciting!
What surprised me today? That I can actually be more tolerant of my client's demands. =) Maybe I am maturing.
OCMom - Can't wait to share it! It's still being tweaked, but I'll post as soon as I can :) And yay on not killing your client, er, "tolerating" him/her/it ;)
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