The greatest portion of my working life, before nursing school, involved reading contracts and negotiating business deals totaling in excess of $300,000,000.00. That might sound impressive, but, in the world of business, money flows like the Mississippi.
At one point, a serious problem surfaced with our steel vendor. And yadda yadda yadda. I will not bore you with the details.
I was attempting to write a novel when this multi-million dollar crisis happened. It seemed intriguing how the problem arose, only to be denied by the vendor. It became more intriguing as we discovered other clients who experienced similar "cover-ups" involving the same vendor.
I fictionalized this intrigue in the pages of my manuscript. How fascinating, how exciting, to have the main character involved in a murder plot and a juicy bit of industrial sabotage.
During the actual business meetings, involving the investigation of cause and subsequent solving of our problem, my vendor brought an endless supply of Hot Donuts Now. This too went in my book.
The manuscript completed, it was e-mailed to a trusted overseas friend. We had no common ground except our love of the written word. When she finished her reading, her statements caused me to scrap my masterpiece.
Oh My God! My moments of industrial intrigue now rested in the landfill!
But not quite all. She found one item lovely and fascinating.
"I like the bit about the pastries."
I no longer include subjective expertise in my work.
I'd been fascinated by my "ordeal with the steel". While I'm sure twelve or possibly fifteen readers would have been likewise intrigued, I chose to adapt my style to engage a larger audience.
This is the best advice I can imagine for new writers...
Just because something feels interesting, just because it seems totally fascinating in the moment, there is no guarantee anyone will ever want to read about it.
Except for the donuts.
One can never find a better diversion than Hot Donuts Now.
Last weeks Click Here offering brought several pleasant comments through the CONTACT icon. Thank you. This week my focus is on poetry. Far from the norm, my sonnets are less pastoral, less divine. My sonnets have a bit of angst. I hope you enjoy.
*Sonnets have been moved to the poetry section.