My blog's doing a lot of birthing this week, isn't it? But I think today's post will interest both writers and readers.
It's about a challenge that author Ute Carbone and I took part in and its surprising outcome. I'll hand it over to Ute to explain to you.
Ute:
A while back, my fellow writer friend Sue Roebuck had a
terrific idea: we’d each write a story from a single premise. Originally, it
was thrown out as a challenge and a way to get out of a writing slump and get
our pens moving and our fingers typing again.
I thought it might be fun and besides, I’m not one to back away from a
dare. So I took up the gauntlet.
The rules of our writing adventure were simple:
- · The story had to include a firefighter and a veterinarian
- · The main character had to go to and stay in a house (or building) that they had never been to or seen before
- · There was to be a neighbor named Slater
- · The story had to be in a genre we had not tried before
- · We couldn’t show each other the stories until both were finished
And so we began. There were lots of e-mails passed back and
forth where we complained about snags and crowed about how far we’d come.
Initially, we agreed to short stories but we soon amended that rule as the
stories overflowed those constraints—mine becoming a novella and Sue’s a novel.
Finished, we exchanged manuscripts. Much to our surprise,
the two stories were entirely different from one another. Sue wrote a wonderful
dark tale about good and evil. Her fireman hero, Jude, is a good man who has
been badly wounded both physically and emotionally. Her neighbor, Slater, is a
demon; evil incarnate, a hideous beast who deceives Jude by seducing him into thinking it is something it’s not. My
heroine, veterinarian Gwynn, travels back in time to find her true love and
soul mate, Slate—who is the hero of the story and far from demonic.
The stories do have one thing besides a beginning premise in
common; they are both published. Sue’s horror tale, Hewhay Hall by Etopia Press
last April and my time travel romance, The Whisper of Time, by Whispers
Publishing last September.
I hope you’ll read them both! There’s more about the murky and treacherous
Hewhay Hall and on Sue’s take on our venture at my blog today. (Ute's blog)
Here’s a little blurb on The Whisper of Time:
When fate offers Gwynn Powell a chance to start over, she
jumps at the opportunity. Laid off and living with a husband whose gambling problem
has eaten through a good part of their savings, Gwynn buys a farmhouse sight
unseen, leaving both her marriage and her old home behind.
But fate has more in mind for Gwynn than just a new home.
The farmhouse, tucked away in the Green Mountains of Vermont where even GPS
can’t find it, is also a step back in time. And Slate Peck, the farm’s
caretaker and part owner, is tied to Gwynn’s destiny in ways she never
expected.
I love to see how stories start - and how the same prompts can spark very different stories (an exercise I use as a tutor)!
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique idea! And I bet the stories are so very different.
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea!
ReplyDeleteHugs and chocolate,
Shelly
And they both got published, Julia! I'm so glad I took part, Alex and Shelly. choccy? Yum!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun! Thanks Sue, for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Ute - and thank YOU! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! This is an inspirational post! Two writers working together, challenging one another, and publishing!!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really cool idea and a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Congrats to both of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how authors will interpret the same thing. Sounds like you both benefited from the challenge. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Tyrean, Edith and GE - it really was a fascinating exercise.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great idea. And look at the end result? Amazing!
ReplyDelete