I’ve been playing around with a new story… the main character is a man in an unhappy marriage; he and his wife have to stay together because they have a severely disabled child who is cared for at home. The wife in actual fact hates her husband, blaming him for many things which he feels guilty about, even though not all the blame is justified. He cares for another woman very deeply, but won’t admit even to himself that he loves her, she has been through a traumatic time for various reasons and relies on him as a friend. Thee is a third main character, close friend to the man, and hopeful lover of the woman… is that complicated enough?
The story doesn’t just revolve round the relationships of the characters, there is a crime, fingers are pointed, suspicions aroused, mysterious things occur and I hope, by the end everything will be revealed and there will be a satisfactory conclusion.
As i was reading through my jottings today it occurred to e that it really was unremittingly gloomy and cheerless, the characters are all depressed and either yearn for each other, or hate each other… It is just so miserable… no-one would want to read this, even though the ending works out all right for most of them! if I were a great writer like Tolstoy or Flaubert, maybe my elegant language, and finely wrought turn of phrase and my sheer genius could support a work of tears and stress and trauma… but I’m not so i will have to think of a way to leaven the story. I’m not going to insert jokes or hilarious situations, but I am just going to treat my characters a little more kindly and allow them a little sunshine… more contrast, less black and white!
Lois Elsden 