Monday, April 25, 2011

No Choice in the Matter

Before JT was born, I watched lots of baby-related shows. I don't care to as much now because I know exactly how it feels to have a three-day-old at home and I don't need the television reminding me. But one thing that always boggled my mind was the phrases that came up while these brave women were bringing their little ones into the world:

"I give up."
"I'm not doing this anymore."
"Take me back home -- I'm quitting."

Of course, I'm sitting there all amused wondering what these women are thinking and how exactly they plan to quit. Not exactly an option, is it? Well, as it turned out, when JT was less than an hour from making his grand entrance, I turned to my other half and declared, "I want the baby out. I don't want to push anymore."

...yeah, I was a hypocrite. It's not often in life when you really have no way to back out and you have to move forward. But when it does happen, it changes your life. And this particular change was one of the best, right up there with discovering Jesus, marriage, and my first taste of sushi.

I should relate this back to writing, shouldn't I? All right, then. When plotting a story, one should try to create a situation where the protagonist has no choice but to move forward. But not by putting her through labor. There are limits of torture even for imaginary people.

1 comment:

  1. That was a great segue into writing, and completely awesome advice!

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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