What Would I Do

Watching movies and reading is difficult for me. Being a writer and having seen lots of movies and read lots of books, I have become brilliant at predicting how stories will end. Not much surprises me any more. I applaud the story teller who captures my interest, holds it, and thrills me with an ending I never saw coming. (This is the part where I give examples, but my mind is old and full of holes.)

One thing writers learn when they begin their journey into the literary world is every story that can be told has been told before. The trick, we are counseled, is to do it uniquely. How does one take a story which  has been told through the ages and make it their own? If I knew the secret to this, I would be a best selling author by now.

What would I do? It is a game I play every time I encounter a tale unfolding. "Well, if it were me, I would..." I'm not always right, I have to admit. But I do get it right enough times to believe I have become jaded.

I called my cousin the other day to discuss a book. I didn't think the character acted appropriately. I know if  I woke up one day to find I were a pixie and green, I would react with a bit more excitement than this character did. In my story, she would scream a bit and maybe try to wipe the green away. But the catch is, it wasn't my story and the author told it the way she saw it. Who am I to say if she got it right or not?