So I opened “Morgan” again today and devoted some good time to it. I had been racking my brain, trying to figure out how to write myself out of the corner. How do you make a character do something they’re against? But they’re not against it because it’s against their morals, or because they are a good person, but because they think of themselves as good and moral. People who have woven such ideals into their identity are usually harder to sway.

Finally, I realized that the solution was pretty simple. The offer that was causing the character so many problems was offered over the telephone. Simply delete and rewrite and make it face-to-face. I felt the immediacy — having someone wave money in front of your face and press their advantage, basically saying, “Decide now, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on…” — would make it much more difficult to say no. It’s the salesman approach. We’ll see how it plays out.

When I went back, I realized that I had written the last chapter very late at night, and probably while I was falling asleep (as I have been doing most of this week). What tipped me off? This sentence:

The kitchen was separated by an island with two barstools against it, but it had probably seen less action than a nun’s bedroom.

Yeah, I know. I’m working on it.

10:42 am | Category: Writing | |

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