In theory surprises are good things or they can be - you know, the special outing your best friend or husband springs on you, the bunch of flowers for no reason. The chocolate…oh, yeah! That’s my kind of surprise.
I’ve been thinking about surprises as I work through edits for my latest work in progress. I put my poor characters through the wringer with one bad surprise after the other, starting off when my hero’s brother frames him for murder. Surprises of this nature keep the reader turning the pages. They want to know if the characters are finally going to win over all this adversity. And, of course, there’s the odd good thing happening so both characters and readers are given a little respite.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of surprises. I’m a planner. Part of the enjoyment for me when I do something is the planning, the savoring and looking forward to the coming event. My husband knows this so any surprises he springs on me are usually small ones: a special bottle of wine, some fresh fruit or chocolate. Things he knows I love.
How are you with surprises? Do you like them? Dislike them? Have you had a wonderful surprise lately that you’d like to share?
Actually, I had a surprise and a half just the other day. I’m putting an ad in the Reals Of Fantasy mag advertising my print release of Carinian’s Seeker. I couldn’t find one author to go in with me, so I opted for the cheapest ad I could get since I was paying by myself.
Out of the blue, the owner of the mag called me and said, “Well, we had an unexpected cancellation, so, er, would you like a whole page at the same price?”
Now, what do you think my answer was? After jumping up and down and running laps around my office until I was sure my boss would call the people in the little white coats, I accepted his offer!
I don’t usually like surprises, but I can take ‘em… especially when they’re good ones. And I’m determined that’s all I’m gonna get from now on! Period!
by TJ Michaels April 26th, 2007 at 4:07 pmWow! That is cool, TJ.
by Shelley Munro April 27th, 2007 at 1:50 pm