Two weird little tales that I wrote. I've put both of them up on this blog before.
A Home to Die For and The Adjuster.
These two stories have really evil guys in them who have very clear motivations. So I think they pair together nicely.
As far as writing them the process couldn't be more different.
With A Home to Die For, I wrote it. Checked my grammar and spelling, gave it to wife who checked my grammar and spelling. Then sent it to Alienskin magazine who bought it. If writing was like that all the time I could be a full time writer and not have any worries.
With The Adjuster it was the opposite. I knew I had a powerful idea, so I typed it up. I loved the ending but wasn't that thrilled with the rest. I asked my wife what she thought and she said, “My god, did that suck!”
After some prodding she told me she hated the character of Maria. I worked on Maria a bit but the story still kind of sucked. So I shelved it. But it still nagged at me. Several months later I opened it up and reread it. I noticed I told the tale rather than showed it. I rewrote it again.
It still had that suckyness but was readable. Not good enough to publish but it had the ideas I wanted to convey. I shelved it again.
It still nagged me, so months later I read it again. Rewrote the Adjuster's part and threw it up as a post. It still nagged me but I was able to ignore that for nearly two years. I would see something that I'd like to put in it. Or think about it.
So I pulled it out again. Rewrote it. Put it up for my Critique Group at Scribophile. They made some really cool suggestions and I rewrote it again.
Nearly 4 years after I wrote it I feel it is good enough to be sent out into the world. Hopefully I will never work that much on a short story again.
I hope you enjoy the re-re-re-re-re-rewritten version.
By Darrell B. Nelson author of I KILLED THE MAN THAT WASN'T THERE
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