A beguiling path beckons … rather like an intriguing story premise. We follow, hesitantly at first. Just for a bit, just to see where the path might lead.
Ah, but if the story is well-told, we are soon “all in” … turning pages with delight and anticipation.
Because we simply must know what is around the next bend …
Often we writers are the most suprised at where our stories lead. We write to entertain ourselves — and to discover what our unexpected things our characters will do.
Okay, so it’s Warrior Time! Ten lines from a work-in-progress: As Only A Woman Can, my Pride & Prejudice romantic romp…
Ah, the lure of anonymous correspondence! Already we’ve seen that Darcy is caught, sending cautionary Valentines to a woman he claims to care nothing about. And Elizabeth? Is her interest captured as well?
Of course she is — and we loves it. Because the fun of a romance is watching events unfold …
With each card he sent, Elizabeth learned a little more. His handwriting had already betrayed him as a gentleman—or possibly a clerk.
Here was a new thought. Was he a scrivener in her uncle’s law office?
This dreadful idea she quickly dismissed. The Admirer was obviously an educated gentleman; he read poetry. The parody of Robert Burns’ poem was cleverly done, signifying intelligence. The butterfly’s face displayed whimsy.
Elizabeth knew that she ought to destroy this Valentine; in a household filled with sisters, this would be the prudent thing to do. But how could she consign the butterfly, with his adorable crooked smile, to the flames?
So he joined the cupid in the privacy of Elizabeth’s writing desk, well-hidden beneath its false bottom.
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So lovely. Thanks for charming snippet. I look forward to more.
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I love how she’s falling for him, and how she’s making clever deductions about him.
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Yes, oh Lord! If the sisters discovered them! lol
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I suspect her secret hiding place will eventually be discovered – together with the valentines! Lovely snippet!
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In a house full of younger sisters, what are the odds that one of them doesn’t check the false bottom regularly?
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“But how could she consign the butterfly, with his adorable crooked smile, to the flames?” Love that line!
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I love how she’s falling for the Admirer, and how she’s deducing what type of man he is. good snippet.
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Good luck keeping that secret. This from someone with sisters! What a lovely scene of longing and innocence.
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