Boxed Into Love is a good example of how a story can be revamped and why authors shouldn’t throw any old unused manuscripts or ideas away. Like paper, plastic, glass, and metal, they can be recycled, at least in part.
Many years ago three friends and I brainstormed a novella proposal idea, and I came up with the initial premise for Boxed Into Love. That proposal was never submitted, and my chapters and synopsis languished in my file drawer for at least seven years until Nancy and I began brainstorming our Washington State series. I pulled the Boxed Into Love notes from a manila folder, thinking we might be able to use part of it for the second book.
We kept most of the original story premise, and the main characters and their careers, but we changed their names and fined tuned their personalities. We gave Shannon, our slightly absentminded heroine, some additional quirks, like tie-dye shirts and herbal tea. The hero remained a button down guy, but we gave him quirks to make him more lovable. We introduced a secondary character who is the hero in our third book (to be will be released later this year), and we added some other notable minor characters to round out our cast. What developed was a fun romance with two starring characters we enjoyed writing about.
Boxed Into Love is a love story about two opposites attracting—a premise of which romance readers never seem to tire. Neither do we.
Who in your life is an opposite? Parent, sister, brother, spouse, friend?
My husband is my opposite. And I adore him! He's perfect for me. He brings order, sanity, and a dose of reality to my free-wheeling, impulsive, and imagination-filled world.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is also my opposite, and we balance each other well. We've been married a long time--37 years and it's taken us a while to learn the balancing act. Don't you love how God does that? Two pieces of a puzzle that fit together with precision. One of my closest friends has the same personality and temperament as my husband. Ah the irony...
ReplyDeleteGood thinking saving that story! My son and I are opposites. I am almost all right brained abstract and creative while he is an extreme left brainer and a very literal thinker. We've had to work on our relationship through the years and are very close.
ReplyDeleteI think one of my sons is the most opposite person in my life, some days we are alike, most days opposites.
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