And the answer is...

There we were. Clipping along at a good pace on the new project when suddenly – BAM! – the answer to a plot-tangle that has been hanging around for so long it’s embarrassing, suddenly revealed itself. Amazing in its simplicity… there must be some hidden flaw in it (I’m almost always the last to know about such things). On closer inspection it not only looks sound, but brilliant.

Where in the world did that come from?

All my usual sources are quiet. I haven’t worked on that particular manuscript for quite some time. Yet, something has been percolating in my brain that is larger than any one manuscript. Something of a revelation, only it wasn’t coming in very clear. Here’s how it started.

I was watching an old movie and keeping tabs on the "one darn thing after another" concept that I felt had contributed the most to its success. Suddenly I realized that it wasn’t just "one darn thing after another." It was ONE PARTICULAR DISTURBING UNIVERSAL HORROR after another that kept audiences glued to their seats. Here’s the difference…

One darn thing:
A stranger is in your house.

ONE PARTICULAR DISTURBING UNIVERSAL HORROR:
The college student you have agreed to rent a room to for the semester turns out to be a psychopath.

But that isn’t the complete concept. There are lots of successful plots that incorporate one particular horror. The difference with this new idea is that there must be several. Such as…

You forget to lock your door and wake up later in the night to the sounds of someone walking down the hallway.

You discover you have left your cell phone in the car.

You panic and climb out the window, only to realize your keys are still in the house.

You dart over to the neighbors as a last resort and no one is home.

You suddenly realize you are running around a public street in your underwear.

A patrol car pulls up to the curb because another neighbor has reported a half-naked predator slinking around people’s houses.

Hmmm. Now, if this were the new requirement for plots, just how might this effect my current WIP…



What’s happening on the farm today: Rain, wind, and a crackling fire to work by. The only interruptions come from "Boo Radley" who has not been in the family long enough to know rainy day schedules relegate all wet dogs to kitchen-only status. He thinks he must have done something really bad, but he just can'’ figure out what.