RISKING IT ALL

by Deborah Elliott-Upton

When my husband and I watch TV game shows where a contestant must decide whether to continue and risk losing the monies already won or walk away with cold hard cash and give up the chance of winning the jackpot, we take different paths. My husband would take the money and run. Personally, I’d risk it all.

My theory is I had nothing going into the game and so nothing to lose. To me, it’s as if the monies were bills from a Monopoly bank. My darling husband believes people who gamble against a sure thing have a screw or two loose. Hmm, maybe I do, but maybe that’s why I’m a writer.

In my writing classes, the students whose characters are more at risk tend to have the better stories. However, getting new writers to understand this truth isn’t always easy. At the beginning of the classes, I hand out copies of my article, Risky Writing, composed when a student couldn’t quite “let go” and write the type of stories he had buried within him.

Risky Writing

The best writing always begins with a risk. Write about a strong emotion, a sexy situation, a horrendous murder, explore a childhood memory or turbulent teenage years. The twist is to do it as if no one would ever read it. In this protected realm, you write from your soul.

Share thoughts you hide from the P.T.A., your pastor and closest friends. Tell a story without regard to whether your mother, child or Aunt Martha will see it in print. Write of steamy passions, chilling killers or quirky settings. Create bigoted characters, delve into a secret fantasy, fight a devil or go on a crusade with abandon.

Risky writing comes from the heart and finds a ravenous readership. If it doesn’t make you rich, count it as free therapy. Taking the chance to explore what’s concealed beneath the surface will make your writing life richer and that’s the true goal.

Take the challenge and risk it all! Risky writing may reveal your best writing ever.

To my joy, most students consider this handout a permission slip. The results have been several great stories. One student wrote about a very young ghetto boy becoming a “runner” for the Mafia to keep his family from starving. Another’s escapades of a dildo factory worker who loved his work a little too much. (He certainly kept our attention while he read his story aloud.) And I can never forget the story of a naked Emily in the middle of a cemetery.

Oh yes, take a risk now and then. I’m not just speaking to writers here, but to readers, too. Those restricting themselves to reading only cozies may find they enjoy an occasional police procedural or vice-versa. Although mystery is my favorite genre, many times nothing but Stephen King will do. Will his stories scare me? Will I lose sleep staying up all night to finish the book? Will my imagination rehash gory details at odd moments? It’s a risk I am most willing to take.