| Home | Introduction | Articles Index |

| Links | Durant Imboden |

Exploring alternative scenarios

by Durant Imboden

In fiction writing, the most obvious
solution may not be the best.

When my daughter was in second or third grade, she enjoyed a children's paperback series called "Choose Your Own Adventure." In each novel, the story went off in two directions after a certain page. The reader could make a choice between endings, or (as in my daughter's case) go back and try the second ending after reading the first.

This concept of alternative scenarios, or "tree fiction," has value for authors of conventional short stories and novels. Why? Because the first solution to the question of "How will my story turn out?" isn't always the best. Another approach may work better, if only because it's likely to be less obvious than the first idea that pops into the writer's mind. Consider this example:

Jim, a former Marine who collects guns, and his wife Ethel are comfortable with each other but a little bored after 20 years of marriage. One day, a new couple--Gus and Susie--move into the house next door. Susie is a sexpot and a flirt, so it isn't long until Jim is fawning over Susie while ignoring his own wife.

When Ethel finds Jim in bed with Susie, she shoots them both with Jim's 9mm pistol and turns the gun on herself in a classic tragic ending.

Now let's explore an alternative scenario:

Jim, a former Marine who collects guns, and his wife Ethel are comfortable with each other but a little bored after 20 years of marriage. One day, a new couple--Gus and Susie--move into the house next door. Susie is a sexpot and a flirt, so it isn't long until Jim is fawning over Susie while ignoring his own wife.

When Ethel finds Jim in bed with Susie, she shoots Susie with Jim's 9mm pistol and forces Jim to bury the body at gunpoint. Jim sees his wife in a whole new light--as Xena, the Warrior Princess or a strong, sexy character out of Thelma and Louise. The story ends with Ethel as the liberated dominatrix and Jim as the happy, submissive husband.

Granted, this is a second-rate story either way. (What do you expect for free?) But which of the two is more interesting, or at least less predictable? Chances are, you'll vote for the alternative scenario.

Moral: When you're writing fiction, explore more than one scenario--because there may be a better way to develop your story than the one that seems most obvious.

Copyright © 1996-2002 Durant Imboden. All rights reserved. Credits.