Hi everyone!
In this posting I want all the writers out there to consider a question. What is your book or short story about? I know it’s a space age YA western, but what is it really about? There are 7 deadly sins, which ones are in your book? That is today’s topic. But first, let me tell you about my trip to the Florida Keys. Our stay in Hawks Cay resort on Duck Key, mile marker 61, reminded me why the protagonists of my book end up living in the Keys. It has been four years since we‘ve been there and they are still pristine. I also had alot of fun hangging out with my nephews, and showing my older brother Key West. Hemmingway’s house was beautiful; I’d write great novels too if I lived in a colonial mansion surrounded by walking gardens and tall trees. When I die, and God asks me if I want to enter heaven, I’ll say “No. Send me to the Florida Keys.”
My brother Anthony is also a writer, and it was nice to have someone to talk shop with. It was one of our discussions that led me today’s topic. What is your book about? Jaws was a movie about a killer shark terrorizing a small sea side town, right? Or was it really about one man’s obsession and another’s sense of duty. It made me wonder what my book was about, and I think the first part of my book is about desperation. Jose’s desperation to get his family out of the inner city and into the suburbs. But after he becomes successful, his need changes to greed. He wanted a house, now he wants a mansion.
So what is your book or short story about? Is it a story about a Civil War soldier enduring the hardships of battle - or is it about lust, fear, regret, the perils of blind faith? And don’t forget, make the actions of the characters in your stories do things that reflect the sin, sorrow, or vice you are trying to display. Good luck!
One last thing about the Florida Keys. I saw a real sea turtle swimming in the water. It was just swimming along slowly, below my hotel balcony. It was brown and dull green with flippers the size of canoe paddles. It dove into the canal when a boat came and disappeared. It was beautiful, and big!
Until we speak again, I will continue writing into the wind.
Love,
Lucho