Friday, July 23, 2010

Worth Waiting For

by Mary Ann Joyce from the May 31, 2010 issue (The second of three late posts.)

Tagline: There were things that Maggie wanted to forget about Sean McDougal...but lots more that she couldn't help remembering

In a Nutshell: Maggie runs into Sean in the grocery store. They were once great friends in high school until he married a cheerleader and moved away. A mutual friend sets them up and they rekindle their feelings for each other.

Observations: This story is a clear example of the three act structure. First act: Maggie tells a girlfriend (the matchmaker, it turns out) about the chance encounter. In that conversation, we get some info about the heroine: she owns a small shop, she's not a good cook, she works out. We get some info about the hero: he's recently divorced, is a high school teacher.

Act two: We see the heroine's thoughts, getting the history of their relationship in high school--Drama Club, after which the guy meets the cheerleader whom he marries and eventually divorces.

Act three: A few days later he calls her. He never forgot her and wants to take her to a party the matchmaker is throwing.

This kind of story can touch a chord in readers. Doesn't everyone have a person they longed for in their youth who spurned them? Wouldn't it be terrific if that person came back and admitted that they were stupid for letting you slip through their fingers? Yeah. Me too!

The only thing this story was missing was a black moment, but Woman's World doesn't seem to care about that.

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