As I sat down to write what would be many very distinct first drafts of my short story, I had a general sense of what I wanted to write about. I had a setting very dear to my heart all mapped out, and knew exactly how I wanted to incorporate it. I had characters that--after 13 pages of a single rough draft--I had fallen in love with. Seemingly, everything was falling into place . . . until I realized one thing: the story I wanted to write wasn't the story that was going to be written.
In my earlier drafts, I had intended on making my main male character the "bad guy", and using this as the basis for pressure being put on not only my characters and my story, but on my reader as well. It was only after the most unusual "click" so to speak (at my synagogue during a prayer service of all places) that nearly brought me to tears, that I realized this wasn't how my story was supposed to be written. I wanted my characters to be put into a bad position for a good reason, yet as we all know too well, bad things rarely happen for any reason at all.
The shifts in me, and in my story as well, were adding two elements very near and dear to my life. I incorporated the suicide of a loved one, and the toll it takes on the ones they've left behind. Also finding a "feature roll" in my short story is a teen pregnancy that turns into a miscarriage--leaving all stunned and more saddened than they had originally imagined.
My short story was one that I didn't originally want to write. While incorporating aspects of your reality into the reality of characters in a story, it can bring a sense of closure and comfort, yet it's also another reminder of how scary these realities truly are. There are parts of my story that I find difficult to read, and that's exactly why I felt that I needed to write it. Regardless of if ten people read it or ten thousand people read it, this is a story aching to be read, and I'm thankful enough that I was the one blessed to write it.
You are awesome. Never forget.
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Nish
I can completely relate with you on this, Toby. When I sat down to start my first draft of my short story, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to write. I had all my ideas put together in my head and I thought all I had to do was just start writing and I would be done in less than an hour. But, of course, as I began to write my story, words I'd never imagined started flowing through my fingers, to the keyboard, to the screen in front of me. I was originally going to kill off my main character's brother, but then I decided to botch that idea and go with something I deemed much more poignant. As you are happy with your changed mind, I am happy with mine. And I look forward to reading your story once we all turn our final drafts in!
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