Wednesday, September 5, 2007

What Do You Expect? By Morgan Mandel

After surviving the monsoon season in Illinois, with its storms and heat and mayhem, I and my husband escaped for a short vaction to Wisconsin.

As many of you are aware, Wisconsers often refer to the mosquito as their official insect, since it is usually so prevalent there.Before we left, we'd been almost eaten alive by the ferocious little critters who dared to even attack in sunlight, not a common practice of their kind in Illinois.

We expected the same or worse treatment in Wisconsin. Much to our surprise, that was not the case. Instead, the mosquitos were nowhere to be found and we were able to freely walk without feeling the danger of small guided missile attacks. That left us with a good feeling.

When you write a book, don't settle for the obvious. Don't pick the first or second choice to resolve a conflict. Stretch the boundaries. Go for the unexpected. Lead the readers down a path to a dead end and let them wonder what will happen next.

Long after they put your book down, they'll remember the good feeling you gave them and they'll want more of the same from you.
Get ready to do another!
PS I'm back home. The mosquitos are just as bad as when I left. Maybe Illinois can adopt the the mosquito as its official insect also!
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com/
www.myshelf.com/morganmandel
http://bookplace.ning.com/
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com/
http://mysteryturtles.blogspot.com/

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