Sitting down about to start editing the rough draft of Moral Hygiene, I suddenly found myself at a crossroads.
Background: Moral Hygiene is an old piece that I'm reworking.
Originally, it was significantly shorter and ended just after the initial horror, with just a hint at what was to come.
Sort of a let-the-reader-imagine-the-most-horrible-outcome tactic, which in turn makes the impact of the story as varied as the number of people who read it.
Now, I've ripped apart the original version, added some additional character motivation and back story, and now – it's time to make a decision.
Do I move forward with the story as-is? Or do I switch protagonists during the rewrite?
I know, I probably should have considered this question earlier. In fact, I did, but I think I got caught up in living out my girl-slasher fantasies while I was slicing and dicing the story apart.
So, how do you decide who gets to shine in the spotlight? Which is a scarier read? A story coming from the terrified mind of the person that is having horrible things happen to them? Or the disturbed individual that is doing the terrifying?
I'll have to get back to you on my decision.
But which would you rather read?
[NWC]
Mary’s eerie tales inspire in readers the urge to double-check the deepest, darkest closets, to peer anxiously under the creakiest of beds, and to always sleep with the lights on.
The terrified mind, I think, is so much scarier. There’s nothing more frightening than the things humans conjure when they are afraid.
Barry Napier’s last blog post..Channeling Emily (and how it has worked)
That’s what I was thinking. And I’d venture to say we may be right. I get that twinge of tentative excitement the more I think about it – meaning I’m almost sure it’s the right way to go, the idea of it gets my brain percolating – yet I’m a little scared to take the leap. Which means I will probably do it – I’m such a thrill-seeker!