Surprise!

I spent the Fourth of July weekend at my sister's house which was completely fun and entertaining. For example, in the midst of the chaos of lighting fireworks on Sunday, my sister had all the little kids line up along the sidewalk so they could get sparklers. They were so cute all lined up in a row, waiting patiently for their sparkler to get lit, but when she was just in the act of lighting the first sparkler, my husband interjected with, "Wait, Jen! Those aren't sparklers. They're bottle rockets." Of course, they were sparklers, Scott just likes to pull a harmless prank now and then. Unless you've lived with him for a few years, you too might get caught. And my sister definitely got caught! The thing I loved about this little scene was how he saw the opportunity and took it. He didn't have to go through any elaborate set up. He just exploited the situation. In many ways, this is how great writing happens. If your characters and plot are strong, the right situations arise without almost any effort, just waiting to be exploited. i.e. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The entire book. Each character plays into the plot so effortlessly it's ridiculous. So, go reread it for kicks or a how-to lesson on how to reveal information. Delightful!