Little Details Can Make a Difference

I’ve been in the process of doing some rewrites on my story.  It started out as simple editing, but as I reread my work, I decided I wanted to go in a different direction with some of the characters in my story.  I’m really happy with the results so far.  I’ve given myself permission to allow my readers the chance to meet characters who are smart, and funny, and terribly flawed.  There’s a lot of myself in the flaws.

One of the new chapters that were added gave me the opportunity to show my readers that even though my two dominant characters are female, they’re far from helpless.  I have a scene, hardly more than a couple of paragraphs, where a minor character needs to get her brakes redone.  As a writer, I enjoy writing about what I know, so even though I write about vampires, I know more about the horrors of keeping together a string of used cars with little or no money.  I used the opportunity to have my female character debate the pros and cons of changing out the rotors at the same time.

Now remember, this is an imaginary car, with imaginary brakes, owned by imaginary characters.  Even still, my husband became adamant.  He is a Pro-Rotor-Changer.  I brought this up at work, and there was a HUGE debate, Pro-Rotor-Changers VS Anti-Rotor-Changers.  Should they just get the rotors turned?  I was given a ton of advice.  I had to laugh!  I also had to keep reminding everyone, that none of this is real.  It’s a quick scene, one that flies by.  I’m glad I put it in.

I think it’s important, as a writer, to sprinkle in everyday events into a story.  Not everyone appreciates vampire stories, but everyone who’s ever owned a car, has had to get maintenance done on it.  As a reader, I enjoy silly details like this.