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Story Discussion / "William Williamson" MMSA story by DMK and PJ Franklin
« Last post by David M. Katz on April 12, 2024, 10:07:00 pm »https://malespank.net/viewStory.php?id=55757
Well over a year ago, I had this idea of an anthology of short stories all using one character name: William Williamson. The William would not be the same William in each short, just a re-used name. I tinkered around and wrote bits and pieces of shorts that might end up in the anthology. One such short was titled "Rural Virginia, 1830." The project lost my interest and so "Rural Virginia, 1830" ended up in a folder, forgotten and neglected.
I have been desperate to kill a writer's block and so I went back through some unfinished works. Most are garbage and are just a paragraph or two. I found "Rural Virginia" and realized it was a complete story and rather readable. My issue was it consisted of only 1700 words. I retitled it to "William Williamson" and added more to it by advancing the story 25 years and giving William a son. At least the writer's block seemed to have eased up a bit.
My regular proofer and editor is out of the country and so I sent the thing to PJ to destroy for me. ( I seriously recommend that all authors find someone to send your story drafts to for destruction before you submit them.) PJ sent it back saying he liked it but . . . the transition was too abrupt.
I had no clue how to fix it and I also was bothered by the fact that the story was outside my usual age range. PJ said he had some thoughts and asked permission to join the story.
"William Williamson" then became a full-blown collaboration. PJ's contributions were brilliant and his additions prompted more inspiration from me which prompted more inspiration in him, yada, yada, yada. The final product is close to 6700 words.
I think the final product is well worth the work and I am pleased with the result. Please give it a look.
Top
Well over a year ago, I had this idea of an anthology of short stories all using one character name: William Williamson. The William would not be the same William in each short, just a re-used name. I tinkered around and wrote bits and pieces of shorts that might end up in the anthology. One such short was titled "Rural Virginia, 1830." The project lost my interest and so "Rural Virginia, 1830" ended up in a folder, forgotten and neglected.
I have been desperate to kill a writer's block and so I went back through some unfinished works. Most are garbage and are just a paragraph or two. I found "Rural Virginia" and realized it was a complete story and rather readable. My issue was it consisted of only 1700 words. I retitled it to "William Williamson" and added more to it by advancing the story 25 years and giving William a son. At least the writer's block seemed to have eased up a bit.
My regular proofer and editor is out of the country and so I sent the thing to PJ to destroy for me. ( I seriously recommend that all authors find someone to send your story drafts to for destruction before you submit them.) PJ sent it back saying he liked it but . . . the transition was too abrupt.
I had no clue how to fix it and I also was bothered by the fact that the story was outside my usual age range. PJ said he had some thoughts and asked permission to join the story.
"William Williamson" then became a full-blown collaboration. PJ's contributions were brilliant and his additions prompted more inspiration from me which prompted more inspiration in him, yada, yada, yada. The final product is close to 6700 words.
I think the final product is well worth the work and I am pleased with the result. Please give it a look.
Top
As luck would have it, a portion of his stories would also be on-topic for MMSA, so a few times, I have attempted to warmly and gently encourage him to try posting one of his there, too... <-
...and indeed, his primary stated reason for not giving story submission a try is that he is convinced his writings is of insufficient quality to be "worthy" -- i.e., "not good enough," as preposterous as I find it
In other words, precisely the exact outcome I expected for him, and well-deserved for such a talented and enjoyable author! 
As they say, "All's well that ends well!"
