One piece of writing advice that has always stuck in my mind is to blend at least two different ideas. Ideas are everywhere, and chances are pretty good that another writer has already written my first idea. But if I take another idea (the more different the better), and twist it into the first idea, then I’m more likely to come up with something unique.
This is what I tried to do with "Lusca Bait."
My first idea for that story was to write about a monster. Hardly an original idea! I went searching for a different type of monster. When I found out about the Caribbean's legendary "lusca," I decided that was what I wanted to write. The lusca gave me the setting, too, but I had no idea what the story would be. I put the idea on hold.
Some time later, a writer from the Oregon coast challenged me to write a
story about one of the antiques collected by the somewhat eccentric
innkeeper of a haunted hotel. Several tempting ghost stories came to mind,
but I tossed them out when I came across a treasure chest, which I’m pretty
sure could've belonged to a lusca in another ocean...
Thanks, Minta! Very interesting!
Readers, I'm intrigued, how about you?
Check out all the new stories on August 31, 2019!
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