Goodwood

Goodwood

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

I… is for…If

If: the biggest word in the English language.

Let’s go back in history to one of my all time favourite English Kings: Henry VIII

If Henry knew that his daughter, Elizabeth, would be his legacy. Be the strongest heir, become the greatest queen of English history, would he have beheaded her mother? And declared Elizabeth illegitimate?

History has written the ending for these complicated events and I will never know if there could be an alternative answer to the question I’ve posed.

Looking back I can view and interpret Henry’s actions with hindsight. But while Henry lived these were his decisions, based on the limited information he possessed at that time. Guided, aided and abetted by those men in grey that held the power behind the throne. I can see Henry, the flaws that made this man, a king, a very real person, loved and loathed.

But perhaps the art to good storytelling is not to give away the ending before the story has begun. So when I write my characters I need to know where they are going to end up but not necessarily need to share this information with the reader too soon?

6 comments:

  1. that's a wow point on character development and sustaining suspense. some writers are even surprised by the development of their characters having let them loose early in the story. a writer is a creator and must have created before revealing bits to the audience. Well done!
    Am on a tour of the AtoZchallenges blogs and i came here. Nice to meet you.
    i can be found here:
    www.seewilliams.wordpress.com

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    1. Hi & nice to meet you too & thank you for a leaving a lovely comment - I will look you up soon, once the Easter madness is over

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  2. Two letters, infinite possibilities.

    "If" seems to be the word of choice today.

    I am trying to read all the A to Z blogs, but coming back to the ones I really like.
    Looking forward to seeing what you do all month!

    Tim
    The Other Side
    The Freedom of Nonbelief

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    1. Tim, I admire your stamina in trying to read them all, good luck - that’s no mean feat & thanx for dropping by & leaving a comment - I will look you up soon, once the Easter madness is over.

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  3. I base a lot of my stories on "What if......?"

    --Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012

    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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  4. Hi Damyanti - I do know what you mean… as I wash the dishes I find myself asking what if this happened to 'x + y' & how would 'x' respond? And off it goes, winding its way through my mind until I hit upon a response. and sometimes it works in reverse when it dawns on me that it cant happen because...

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