by Marti Attoun from the January 16, 2023 issue
Tagline: Nora is desperate to find a firewood delivery service for her new hearth, when a secret admirer answers the call and lights a spark in her heart.
Observations: This is a matchmaker story that I didn't see coming. I mean, I didn't realize it was a matchmaker story until the end, which is so cool! Usually I can see those coming from a mile away but this one took me completely by surprise.
I knew Dave was the firewood guy right of the bat, and maybe that was Attoun's intention--distract us with that bit of info so we feel proud of ourselves for figuring that out, and then pow! Hit us with the info that Shirley was behind it all!
In fact, go back and look at the first line in the story:
"Check the bulletin board, Nora," Shirley said while setting a steaming cup of coffee in front of me at the Crestwood Cafe.
Shirley is the person who set the ball in motion!
I think this just might be a great hack for surprising readers. When you have two surprises in a story, make one really obvious so that the second one sneaks in unnoticed.
Photo by Ivan Radic via Flickr Creative Commons License
2 comments:
Very clever story. I loved the characters.
I agree very clever story. Loved the characters and the great premise.
Post a Comment