Friday, December 1, 2017

Test-drive For Love by Jill Weatherholt

from the December 4, 2017 issue

Tagline: Nell was anxious about replacing her old car...until she met the car salesman!

Observations: This story was a good example of showing a heroine with a mindset that changes over the course of the story. She starts out thinking used car salesmen are shady and ends up realizing that's not true at all. The trick with writing these types of stories, is that you can't just abracadabra have the attitude change. You have to show it happening, while pushing the romance at the same time, and Weatherhold did this very well.

This would be a good starting point if you're stuck finding a story idea. Just think of different beliefs and then brainstorm ways a character could change his/her mind about that belief. Like "the best Christmases have snow," or "health food tastes bad," or "cats are snooty," or what have you. It can also be a belief about the character himself/herself. "I have a brown thumb." "I'm too tall." "I can't tell a joke." This is actually very much in line with the vibe of the magazine--to be positive and optimistic.

3 comments:

Pat said...

I loved this story. I knew I love it the minute I realized Nell needed a new car. Such a great premise. Seeing a woman change her core beliefs in 800 words is amazing. Great job, Jill!

Sandy Smith said...

This was a great story. I enjoyed it.

SKFuller said...

Loved this story. It was so natural and well written - and I could sure relate since my husband was a used car salesman for many years.