Geoff Rod

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Three months later…

It was winter, there was snow on the ground, a fire in the fireplace, and I was feeling enough of a comfort level to take a little more time off. 

I pulled up the Bury the Dead manuscript and skimmed through it; mostly just rehashing the story I’d laid out earlier.

Except…when I reread it…I discovered a problem. 

The story didn’t really have a plot. 

It was a narrative about a young man, Alex Carr, adjusting to life in a corporate world in Denver while trying to reconcile a tough childhood.

I thought it was compelling enough in a classic ‘underdog’ kind of way.  It was relatable in that everyone has their struggles. 

But that was also where it fell apart. 

If I looked far enough ahead, I had to wonder - if I took the book to the next level, and tried to publish it – who would want to read about someone else’s routine problems?  People read fiction to be taken to different places and meet different people; not to hear a recount of what they encounter themselves every day.

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