Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Liar's Story Cupboard

There's some interesting possibilities in this article for short stories.  While lies and lying work well in the framework of crime stories, especially to cover your ass after the crime, they could also be a good jumping off place for getting a crime story started.  Lies can create suspicion and motivation for your characters  http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/lie-partner-lie-money-230100811.html

Of course, crime isn't the only genre where a lie could be the start of a great story.  Big lies, little lies, cover up lies, any old lie at all could work.  Sending your protag off in the wrong direction, or looking for an artifact that doesn't exist.  Thinking a small white lie will ease the tension of a situation, like we're running out of fuel and about to crash on an uninhabited planet.  And lies could certainly wreck havoc in a romance story.

To get your story started, just tell the biggest fib you can think of and go from there.

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