"UNDECIDED" RELEASE WEEK POST FIVE

NOW YOU SEE IT

I may have mentioned this before, but for those who don’t know, I went to film school. ($13,000 well spent, says the girl who does not work in film.) In terms of a career in screenwriting, I would describe this investment as “not successful,” but even though I didn’t really appreciate it at the time, I learned a lot. I learned about storytelling, structure, plot, pacing, character development, and how to handle brutal criticisms, among other things. One of the biggest lessons you learn about storytelling is the importance of SHOW DON’T TELL. It’s so important I’m writing it in capital letters.

Maybe I wouldn’t notice this if it hadn’t been drilled into me in school, and maybe I’d read along happily being told things instead of shown them. But now that I’m aware of it, I can’t stop noticing when authors tell me how characters are feeling/changing/reacting when actions can do it so much better. One of the best examples we saw in school was from the movie Kramer vs. Kramer (well, the script). The mother leaves and the totally unprepared father is now responsible for raising a little boy. They try to make French toast and fail epically. The kitchen’s a mess, the toast burns, everybody’s unhappy. At the end of the story, however, they make French toast in perfect sync. They’re a team now. Nobody needs to write “After months of living together they’d found a system that worked and made everybody happy and improved their quality of life.” Seeing is believing, as they say, and I believed.

When I wrote the first draft of “In Her Defense” I didn’t include the company party scene at the end, and upon re-reading I knew something important was missing. Then it finally dawned on me: the party! Now normally I wouldn’t think it’s a brilliant idea to show someone’s character arc over two books (especially when they’re not the main character in both books), but because Caitlin’s role at the party in book one was so memorable (for all the wrong reasons), I thought seeing her in the same situation but behaving completely differently would really showcase her growth as a person.

I’ve tried to do something like this in “Undecided,” but instead of telling you what I did, let’s see if YOU can tell ME. First person with the right answer gets a signed print copy!

WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR: There are three scenes in which something similar happens and in each scene Crosbie responds/reacts differently. Nothing to do with magic. Everything to do with his character arc.

By now you’ve had all week to read, and if your week has been too busy, you’ll have the weekend. If no one gets this by Monday, I’ll tell you the answer and buy a gift for myself. We all win! (Just kidding—only I win.)

NB: This contest is only available on my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/juliannakeyesauthor), otherwise I can't monitor the comments and the order they came in. If you think you know the answer, feel free to visit me on FB and share! :)