To that concern, I'd like to offer one of the exercises from The Nighttime Novelist to illustrate just how quickly a story can actually turn...on a single word, in fact. Below is an exercise (Worksheet 18) from the book designed to be a prompt for writing a dialogue...but which illustrates, I think, how a single line or word can alter the course of a story:
My boss calls me into his office to tell me he’s quitting. On his face is a look of _________.
despair..................................rage
hopefulness...........................confusion
unchecked lust......................panic
recklessness..........................relief
accusation.............................guilt
Imagine this as a line that comes mid-book--presumably the boss character has been present, if minor, throughout, and presented to us in a certain, consistent way. So offering a big change in a single line suddenly propels the story in a different direction...and to see just how many directions might be suggested in the moment, from the obvious to the unexpected, try filling in the blank with a few different options and consider what each might allow for the story.
By the way, to see this exercise as it was originally constructed, visit the Downloads page, where you'll find all the worksheets from the book available to you for the amazing low price of free.
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