Mattea Orr
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Author and Doppelgänger in Training
Mysteries and Suspense for Adult and YA Readers

The Second Story I Ever Wrote

10/26/2019

4 Comments

 
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To see the potentially career-ending faux pas of my first story, see the story of Mrs. Jackson's patience on the side or bottom of this page.

I'll wait.

Mrs. Jackson also obviously had  a good sense of humor, huh? 

I learned a few more things from my second story. Fortunately, it wasn't to write what you know. Spoiler alert: things didn't turn out well for Mrs. Sharp. 

What I KNOW is the struggle to teach postmodernism to undergrads at eight in the morning, how to make the best chocolate chip cookies (chop a real chocolate bar and don't over-bake those precious puppies), along with the entire rap to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme. Admittedly, not exactly the most engaging story hooks ever. 

Don't abandon those everyday details. Bring them with you. 


You should write what you can imagine beyond the limits of your experience. Reach for the strangest things you can think of, the things that keep you up at night, the things that fill you with awe. Then, inoculate the extraordinary with the mundane to give your reader a path just familiar enough that they're able to come along for the ride. 

Perhaps the most important thing? Don't give away the murderer in the second line of the story.

I even learned how to type. On a typewriter no less! 
4 Comments
G link
11/7/2019 11:03:24 am

So fun! And good advice to stretch the limits of my imagination, and then add with practical, everyday stuff to keep the reader grounded. BTW, I'm going to try your suggestion on the chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! :-)

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Mattea Orr link
11/7/2019 12:19:07 pm

I'm so glad you liked it! But if people take nothing else away, it's the cookie advice. Cookies are important :)

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Maria Herring link
11/7/2019 11:20:41 pm

I love that advice - take what you know and stretch it out to the furthest reaches of your imagination. Because honestly, if writers only wrote what they knew, books would be pretty dull!
Also - genius cookie advice!

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Mattea Orr link
1/21/2020 11:36:54 am

I agree, Maria! Also, finding that spark for the imagination is one of the most fun parts of being a writer.

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    Mattea Orr

    The first story I ever wrote featured the murder of my first grade teacher. This was for an assignment from my first grade teacher. Just want to take a minute to say thanks Mrs. Jackson. 

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