Thursday, April 2, 2009

April 2

Didn't make my lunch with Marin Thomas yesterday. Instead, I dealt with an unexpected pothole problem. There was a pot hole in a construction area that could not be avoided. Needless to say it bent and cracked my wheel and made the tire bulge. So, spent the morning replacing two tires and a wheel. It is the unexpected things that can really mess up a day.

I was lucky and the tire stayed inflated long enough for me to drive to a tire place. Can't imagine what would have happened should I have had a flat in the middle of a construction zone.

Do you write small conflicts like this in your stories? Such as appointments missed, car doesn't start, basement floods? Or are these things to "real?" Would you, as a reader, rather read about a serial killer on the loose or a car breaking down? (Okay, I'd rather read about the killer... I don't want to know what that says about me.)

3 comments:

  1. I think that actually happened in my area. This guy killed his mother, wrapped her up in a sleeping bag and duct tape, and threw her in a pit. But on the way to the pit, he got a flat tire (or it could've been some other kind of auto trouble. I can't remember). A friendly neighbor passing by stopped to help him change the flat and saw the sleeping bag in the bed of the truck. He didn't realize there was a body in the sleeping bag until later.

    The neighbor wasn't able to positively identify the murderer, but he definitely remembered the sleeping bag. It was his testimony in court that helped the jury decide the mama-murderer was guilty. So... I can definitely see how something "real" could change the plot of a murder mystery.

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  2. Sorry you had such rotten luck, but I guess it could have been worse. When you put it in a book, you'll make it worse, I bet.

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

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