Tidbit: Spinning

So there I was, writing along, la-de-dah-de-dah, all happiness and rainbows and oh-my-goodness-this-story-is-so-going-to-work types of thoughts running around in my head. I found a great historical tidbit. I shaped a love story around it. And shazam! Perfecto story idea. . .

Corruption in the Minneapolis police department forces out Officer THOMAS LUND. As the sole support for his widowed mother and younger brother, his hopes to pursue marriage with the woman he loves, nurse WILLA BRIGHTON, are now gone. When her aunt and uncle decide to move back to England, Willa must choose between an uncertain future with Thomas or remain in the security of family. The only chance Thomas has to stop Willa from leaving and end the vice in the police department just may cost him his life.

Sounds fan-freaking-tastic, right? Nope. Not so fast there, zippy pants. I got the big shut down on that idea. Can you guess why? Go ahead. I'll give you a minute.

If the following were any of your reasons, you win a plastic banana:

• Not romantic enough
• Corruption doesn't sell
• Too dark
• Not a fictional world that anyone would want to escape to

What to do? Throw away a finished synopsis/idea? Sob into my wubbie like an overgrown infant? Demand congress enact a new regulation that would negate and also tax readers that don't like my work?

Nope. Didn't do any of those. I simply pulled a media trick and re-spun the tale from a different angle. Here's the new copy:

WILLA BRIGHTON loves her work as a nurse and her beau THOMAS LUND, but both are about to be taken from her as she must move back to England with her family. If only Thomas would propose—but he can’t. As sole supporter for his widowed mother and younger brother, Thomas’s hopes to pursue marriage with Willa are permanently on hold—unless he can expose the corruption in the Minneapolis police department and regain his career as a captain in the force. 

See the difference? Same idea, characters, and plotline. I merely notched up the romance and toned down the crime/violence.

Takeaway Value: There's usually a way around a boulder in your path if you're willing to listen to feedback.