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Sunday, April 02, 2006

What if...

A writer's best ideas come from what if's and what would happen if's. Brainstorming exercises should always include a what if part. So take the premise of a friend's novel what if the boy you loved since high school was suddenly available and you had one night of passion with him. Then what if that passion resulted in pregnancy and he wanted to be involved. Sounds like a normal romance novel, but the idea is to throw in a twist which she does. What happens when the couple is threatened with miscarriage of the one thing that brought them together. Once in a Blue Moon by Celia Stuart www.liquidsilverbooks.com/books/onceinabluemoon.htm I had the great honor of helping read and critique this book prior to it selling.

So what's your what if? What if your brother would go to any extreme to prevent you from marrying someone else, including calling an old friend that you had a crush on. What if the person you thought was your true love but dumped you, came back into your life when you were engaged to someone else. Ah, I could go on and on.

3 comments:

mypetrock said...

With the exception of the brother angle, I think this one has been done with any number of romantic comedies. Four Weddings and a Funeral and My Best Friend's Wedding come to mind. The addition of the old flame is a complication that either peels apart the two that were meant to be together until they realize it or reveals the husband-to-be to be a schmuck.

How about this one - what if you were involved with someone who went away for a significant time period and came back when you were with someone else? At the center of the triangle to whom do you owe fidelity? How serious would either relationship have to be in order for you to choose one or the other?

Amanda said...

If that were the only angle then yes, been there done that. Almost all romantic situations have been done in one way or another. Half of the challenge is to take an old story line and make it into something new and excited.

That one is on my list as well. The whole ex-factor. Also, been done in a few ways. Serendipity, which was awesome because the financees were good people.

mypetrock said...

Running with the brother angle I guess there are two ways to work with it. On the one hand, you could have the brother be right. She missed out on Mr. Right and her brother knows it. So you have a case where someone knows you better than you know yourself. Or the brother could be wrong and end up with a "to your own self be true" storyline. Or a "maintaining your opinions in the face of familial disapproval."