Meredith Mansfield, Author

Sometimes, it’s surprising what things will come together at the precisely right time to spark an idea. That might be the seed of a new story. Other times it might be the germ of what needs to happen to make an existing story better.

That happened to me yesterday. I was working through one of the critiques on MAGIC AND POWER (which may be retitled DESERT ROSE). Then I read this post on Adventures in YA Publishing, and everything started to come together.

I had a period early in my story in which my main character didn’t seem to be struggling enough. There wasn’t enough tension. Also, during that part of the story, the hoped-for love triangle didn’t have as much suspense as it needs because the “right” choice was a little too obvious.

Now, I’m going to give that “right” choice some drives based on his background that are at odds with the main character’s desires. Basically, he’s going to annoy the heck out of her, causing her to brush off her early attraction to him.

I think it will make the story so much better. And that’s the name of the game.