Raising the Stakes

A writer has to make the reader care about the outcome of a story.

In my novel-in-progress two kids, Delia and Sam, suspect a former neighbour of having murdered his wife. They set about to uncover the truth. It wasn't long before I began to have doubts about the strength of this story. Why would the kids even bother? Why would they care?


When I began to ask myself these questions, I realized that kids themselves needed a stake in finding the answer. How could I make solving the mystery a matter of life and death for these youngsters?


In order to answer that question, I had the boy's aunt, a young woman who plays an important role in the lives of both kids, begin to date the man with the deadly secret.
Now Delia and Sam had a reason for wanting to get at the truth.

To ratchet up the tension, I had the kids discover that the man had had not one, but two wives, who had died violent deaths. It became more urgent than ever that they act quickly to save the unsuspecting Aunt Esme from a similar fate.

Now, I can get on with the story.

A Letter From the Grave

I wrote a letter this week to Delia Moffatt, the main character in my new story, from her dead mother. The mother does not appear in the story, having died when Delia was five, eight years before the story begins. But I wrote the letter as a means for me to understand the complicated relationships between some of my characters.

"Dearest Delia,
I am sorry that I can't be there to see the delightful young girl you are today. How relieved I was that Grandma moved back in with you and Daddy after I left. You have Esme too, remember -- my lifelong, closest friend. She means it when she says she will do anything for you. Don't let Daddy be too proud to ask her . . . "

The letter goes on, but you get the idea. This little exercise has helped me to get more of the back story straight.

It's not necessary for the reader to know where Delia's and Sam's parents came from, but I need to be aware of these details as I write. The letter will not appear in the book, and I will use only a small part of the back story, but in order for me to tell the story, I have to have a sense of what happened before the opening scene.


Write on!