I enjoy looking at things from multiple angles. The words “what if” always on the tip of my tongue. One simple word switcheroo can inspire radical change in a scenario.
Joe stared at the screen. Sasha would be devastated to see this truth. Her father had met her mother’s best friend first.
Why would she be devastated? What secret is there between them?
Joe stared at the screen. Sasha would be devastated to see this truth. Her father had loved her mother’s best friend first.
What happened? Why did he end up with her mother?
Joe stared at the screen. Sasha would be devastated to see this truth. Her father had saved her mother’s best friend first.
Why would he save her first? What is going on between them?
Joe stared at the screen. Sasha would be devastated to see this truth. Her father had betrayed her mother’s best friend first.
He betrayed her first meaning he betrayed the mother second, why? What on earth is he up to?
Joe stared at the screen. Sasha would be devastated to see this truth. Her father had killed her mother’s best friend first.
Why did he kill her first? Why at all? That means he killed others? Her mother? Is he coming for Sasha? Or is he protecting her?
This is a fun way to shake it up, change the direction of the story or introduce a plot twist. The opportunity to shift and change the history of a character to become more interesting is something I love to do. The “what if” factor always has me on the edge of my seat as I write. What if instead of kissing her mother’s best friend first he hit her first? What if instead of dating her mother’s best friend first he stole from her first? The possibilities are endless. When I do this, I’ll sit and play out the past and future of each scenario, which one is more tantalizing? Which one can bring more mystery and intrigue? Which one will change the story radically for the better? What if instead of murder, he faked their deaths to protect them? From what? From whom? Will Joe be delivering good news or bad?
My advice about making a simple dramatic change.
Give it a shot, why not? You might just stumble into something so exciting that you can’t sit still or stop writing.
-Sheryl.
Related Post:
Switch it up, and swap it out.
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Radical
I wrote a book. Now what? 
Nice. I like to to twist things around to see if I can find new meaning in them as well. I like one example that another one of my buddies wrote, he said something like, “Migraine. My Grain. My Grain on a plain. Migraine on a plane in the rain. I’m done.”
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That’s a fun way to play with words.
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I enjoyed it so much :). Every time I read your smart pieces, I think about my smart choice to follow and read you ❤
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That is a very big compliment, not taken lightly. Thanks.
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Hi Sheryl. I’ve nominated you for an award:https://pblivs.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/a-pleasant-surprise/
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