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His Name is Mo
We all have them. At least I think we do.
Though, now that I’m saying this on the internet, I have to hope we all do. Otherwise I’m more of a nut than I realized.
*Deep breath*
I hear voices. Or, rather, I hear characters in my head—people conversing with one another or simply yacking at me. I’ve blogged about it before, even admitted it in Crime Spree Magazine a few years ago.
But those voices are pretty standard among writers from what I hear (and no, the voices in my head aren’t telling me that—writers are). The voice I want to talk about today, though, is different than the current or future characters who are simply vying for my literary attention. No, this voice—the one I’ve recently named thanks to a suggestion from Keith—is very different from the rest. And he’s saved my backside on more than one occasion…
Let me explain.
Three weeks ago my agent came to me with a project she wanted me to try. When I finally got to it, I pretty much hit the ground running. I holed myself up in my office/bedroom and wrote all weekend long. The words were flowing, the story was working, the characters were popping to life. When I’d finished what I needed to write, I emailed it off to my best friend/personal critique partner and then hopped into the shower for a much-needed break.
There I was, in the shower, naked and wet, trying to choose between Pantene Pro-V and Aquage when he spoke.
“The body is in the wrong place.”
I paused for a second, then popped the lid on the Aquage and started lathering my hair.
“She can’t be in the dumpster.”
At this point, I’m still lathering, but I’m no longer paying attention to my hair. Because Mo has me exactly where he wants me.
“If she’s in the dumpster, then your protag can’t be a suspect.”
He’d no sooner made his final point when all thoughts of moisturizer and hair-futzing had fallen by the proverbial wayside in favor of changing the location of my dead body (and then calling my personal C.P. and asking her to download the second version instead 
).
I’ve learned a lot of things since I started writing fiction. I’ve watched my own ability explode over the past year in terms of character development, overall narrative, passion, etc. And I’m still learning—daily. But I think the most important thing I’ve learned throughout my writing journey, thus far, is perhaps the simplest lesson of all…
When Mo talks, I listen.
So how about the rest of you? Do you have a Mo? And if so, do you listen to him?
Hugs,
~Laura
