I have an idea that is capturing me, and I am finally writing. Only 1000 words a day, but that is progress. I have been consistently writing for the past few days, and it’s a good feeling.
The story idea started humorously. What if a tradwife influencer and her PR-oriented husband latched on to Barn Swallows’ Dance wanting to take over with their vlog programming? The publicity would be good for the collective, right? There would be a nice ‘fish out of water’ aspect, not only because the collective did real work (as opposed to the fantasy that is tradwife programming) but because there were secrets about preternatural gifts and not-quite-humans that could get leaked.
Then one of my characters took over. Not even one of the point of view characters. Rod Lewis, the one protagonist’s husband, is contemptuous of his wife. Spouses of tradwives, the research shows, often are at the same time they lean on their wives for emotional support.
This becomes a different story. Tisha Lewis now has something to push up against. Maybe her tradwife programming is fantasy, but she has a shrewd mind for what will sell. And maybe she eventually gets tired of Rod’s condescension and subtle put-downs. The collective might help her see her worth.
Rod will react badly to what he sees as her pulling away from him, and maybe he realizes that he needs a firmer foundation than complete emotional dependence on her. A collective with self-actualized men might be a good place to learn emotional balance.
So this story could be funny, but now it has teeth. I like this kind of conflict. This becomes an enemies to lovers story without billionaire Mafia dons. I’m getting to enjoy writing it.
Words Like Me 