An
idea popped into my head to write a new short story.
Not
just any story but one about a gunslinger coming to the aid of a
bereaved widow facing an attempt to oust her and her children from
her rance.
In
1867 Southern California!
Why
not?
We've
read about the Carpetbaggers in the south. The evil rich guy trying
to ruin small dirt farmers in the mid-west. Cattlemen going after
sheep herders. And so on.
But.
Southern California?
California
went through turbulent times between 1822 and 1850 when it changed
hands from Spain to Mexico and then the USA. The Zorro stories
supposedly showed us a Spanish Don going to the aid of the poor and
needy being downtrodden. But, by who? It sure wasn't the Spanish as
there weren't enough soldiers under Spanish rule to do what the story
depicts. Maybe against Mexico because the majority of soldiers it
sent there were convicts. The USA? Not even!
But,
right after the American Civil War, a breed pf Carpetbaggers came to
California to try to take up new wealth. Not in the gold fields but
the vast ranches with oh so much land.
But,
that's not my moment of awakening.
I
cranked out 28,500 words plus – including in creating the
characters and conducting research, in just 9 days! I knew it was the
first, rough draft but was extremely proud of the end product.
And
then, I posted the first few paragraphs on a writer's discussion
forum.
Bam!
Right between the eyes.
Dull.
Boring. Too mach passivity.
Hunh?
So,
always eager to seek constructive criticism, I sat back and thought
it over. I then took those paragraphs and wrote them in a completely
different style. Out with Past Tense for the main story. An active
Third Person Present. Showing what is happening NOW.
Almost
done with the first line-editing and can say I really like what I'm
seeing.
So.
Perhaps I can “save” my writing career. Self-published some
stories that haven't been selling. Time to withdraw and rewrite them?
Why not?
Anyhow,
my deepest thanks to those two writers/authors who took the time to
give me some constructing criticism. Perhaps if things improve, I'll
give them the credit they may so richly deserve.
