Something Borrowed

 by G.G. Andrew from the February 22, 2021 issue

Tagline: Emma is a librarian who's unsure that her love story will ever be written, until a dreamy repeat visitor makes a fairy-tale introduction.

Observations: This story is a good example of showing a character arc. While character arcs are a must in longer fiction, in a Woman's World story, it's not absolutely necessary. However, I do think showing the growth of one of the main characters makes a WW story a little meatier.

In this story, Emma starts out a timid librarian who admires a man who comes to the library every week. Until now, she's been afraid to approach him, but circumstances force her to say something or perhaps never see him again. (She could actually just go to the library at Monday at 12:30, even though she's not working, but we'll pretend that's not an option. LOL) By the end of the story, Emma has conquered her fear and given the object of her affections her phone number. Hooray!

Deciding on a point of growth for a character can be a good jumping off point for a story. Brainstorm a few "weaknesses" or fears and build a story around someone overcoming the weakness or facing the fear. The fear does not have to be romantic in nature, as Emma's was. It can be someone being afraid of driving on the freeway and taking lessons and falling for her driving instructor. You could write about someone who doesn't exercise but who wants to be healthier or someone who spends too much money on books and who ventures to the library. The possibilities are endless. You could also think about an aspect about yourself (or even a friend or family member) that you'd like to improve on and write a story based on that. 

Photo by Lydia Liu via Flickr Creative Commons License