Imagine my surprise to discover a warrant had been issued for my arrest . . . by the Social Security Administration.
“Ha ha, yeah,
right,” I murmured, chuckling, as I hung up on the “robot call,” the nickname my grandson has assigned to those annoying, often laughable spam calls. My husband never answers unless he clearly recognizes the number. I can’t help but think I may miss
something or someone of great significance should I resist the urge to pick up
the call. So, usually I do and did this past Tuesday morning.
After the brief interruption, most of my brain returned to its prior task, but a stream of consciousness meandered down the path of suspected criminal activity. What if such a thing were to happen? An intriguing premise for a novel perhaps . . .
Ms. Brown wakes up one ordinary morning
to discover her mild-mannered universe thoroughly mired in a thick, crusty plot
to discredit her honest-Abe reputation, to sully the family name, and to plunge
her very existence into a bottomless pit of accusations that will drain her mental
and physical fortitude. Can she clear her good name and right her world or will
the forces of evil corruption forever dog her remaining days?
Truth be
told, this is not my kind of story. While some of my fellow Scriblerian writing
partners could whip up such a tale with one typing-hand tied behind their
backs, I could not. My forte in the storytelling realm lies in character-driven,
contemporary tales wrapped around the complexities of real life. Those not associated with Social Security fraud.
While I
can construct a modern-day, ordinary-sort-of-life story world without much
distress, I would be hard pressed to craft an espionage-driven backdrop or an
other-worldly setting. My head would ache
causing my eyes to glaze over if I attempted to create the rich, vibrant story
world such a yarn would need to snare readers.
Creating an
appropriate world in which to house a story, any story, is key to engaging the
reader. Present day Madison High School in Pine Crossing, Indiana, where my YA novel series takes place. A long ago, simpler-time-and-place when one-room schoolhouses dotted the flat, dusty landscape. Or, a far-off planet in another galaxy one hundred years into the future. These fictional worlds are tasked with transporting the reader to a specific story world where this particular saga can unfold.
On
November 7th, ACFW Indiana will welcome Jill Williamson via Zoom to talk
about worldbuilding. Jill, who describes herself as a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, resides in
Oregon with her husband and two children. Growing up in Alaska led Jill to a
love of books, and in 2010 her first novel, By Darkness Hid, won the
Christy Award. She loves presenting writing workshops. Which is great for us!
Mark the date on your calendar and watch for
more details in the coming weeks. And in the mean time, gather up your
questions about worldbuilding.
To satisfy my curious nature--a common writers' trait, wouldn't you agree?--please comment below as to whether your telephone-answering habits more closely resemble mine or my husband's.
Beth immerses
herself in the world of YA via substitute teaching, by connecting with the
teenage staff and patrons at the fast food joint where she claims the back
booth as her office, and by reading YA fiction.
She's a "cheerleader" for saving sex for marriage and an even bigger supporter of "renewed waiting" because it's never too late to make wiser, healthier choices. She welcomes questions and topic suggestions for the “Waiting Matters … Because YOU Matter” blog that inspired the Waiting Matters series. Check out her Choices Matter YA series that follows Preston and Maggie as they navigate the choppy waters of high school, guy/girl relationships, and sex.
Beth is also active in the adoption community where she writes and speaks about her experiences as a "foundling" who located her birth parents and is enjoying making up for lost time with her biological family.
Connect with her at BethSteury.com for all the news on upcoming releases. Find her on Facebook at BethSteury, Author; on Twitter @Beth_Steury; and on Instagram and Goodreads. She loves to hear from readers! Write to her at waitingmatters@gmail.com.
I'm like your husband. They can leave a message if it's important.
ReplyDeleteHe will be happy to know he received a vote!
DeleteI used to ignore out-of-state calls from numbers I didn't recognize. Then it became common for people to retain their cell phone numbers when they changed physical addresses, so someone living in Indiana might have a California number that I don't recognize, etc., and scammers are using this to their advantage. (Last month a robot calling scammer got a set of cell phone numbers that used Medicare's toll-free number but in various area codes. Then the callers identified themselves as being "with Medicare." I reported this scam to Medicare, but was told they had no jurisdiction over this, and I should report it to the attorneys general in each of those area codes!)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that...
DeleteI had talked with the FCC. They admitted they can't grab the numbers fast enough. The scammers change them all the time.
YES, Joe, that's one reason to answer for sure! The ol' cell phone from a previous locale scenario. Those scammer schemes have gotten quite bold. More than once, I've received a scam call from a local number with the business's name noted on the caller ID. When the call was labeled as being from the BANK, I was quite perturbed, and promptly called the bank to notify them their number was being used fraudulently. They were aware but unable to remedy the situation. I'll probably continue to answer, just in case.
Delete