{"id":436,"date":"2014-08-24T19:01:04","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T19:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=436"},"modified":"2016-03-25T02:48:32","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T02:48:32","slug":"behind-short-story-death-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=436","title":{"rendered":"Behind: “Death or Taxes”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behind the Writing Scenes of “Death or Taxes,” published in the July ’14 issue of Mysterical-E<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Summer 2011: it was that purplish state of dawn.\u00a0My eyes flew open.\u00a0My breath caught in my throat. Inspiration had come. It was ready to bubble out, like it or not.<\/p>\n

And I liked it.\u00a0In short order I had finished\u00a01800 words of\u00a0unabashed crime fiction\/ dark\u00a0comedy, with the requisite twist-em-ups and even a gun. In it a hit man whacked a\u00a0mob accountant in order\u00a0to\u00a0assume his identity\u00a0and then whack the real target: the U.S. Marshal coming to bring in the accountant.\u00a0Good tension, wry voice, some\u00a0turns of phrase, and oh yeah, the\u00a0gun.<\/p>\n

In all\u00a0It was brilliant…ly\u00a0inspired crap.<\/p>\n

Of course, in 2011, I didn’t see that for what it was. I just didn’t have the experience yet. Which was why off it went to\u00a0a wonderful outlet I’d just as soon not name\u00a0(Surely they’ve forgotten, right? Why remind them I did it?).\u00a0BAM! Rejection.<\/p>\n

So I paid Writers Digest\u00a0to critique it. They said I had the wrong protagonist, that my hit man had no arc. But the Marshal Holden character,\u00a0that guy\u00a0had legs.\u00a0Frankly, I didn’t know what to make\u00a0of that.\u00a0So I\u00a0back-burnered it, convinced the tweaks of brilliance would come.<\/p>\n

So convinced was I that I never submitted it anywhere else.<\/p>\n

For three years.<\/p>\n

By 2013 I had mostly tabled the idea for good, busily writing other and better stories. The witness story could serve as an artifact, of early lessons to draw from and of a happy time in my writing. Thinking back on the\u00a0first versions now–and I won’t re-read it; no one should–the story did achieve a sort of dubious single effect: the entire thing was a giant\u00a0darling built to show how clever I and my characters were.<\/p>\n

But a funny thing happened. Inspiration has a way of sticking around. It had stored itself in my brain somewhere and slowly leeched\u00a0back into my consciousness. In stages it occurred to me what was wrong: the whole idea made no damn sense. The hit man had to be a moron to expect\u00a0such a contrived\u00a0plan to work, what with the internet and modern law enforcement tools. Then there was this:\u00a0sure mobsters and hit men are fun to write–which is why too many people write them.\u00a0 I’m supposed to be creative, right? So go create something fresh.<\/p>\n

The story didn’t need tweaks of inspiration. It need to excavate past the crap into what was truly good about idea.<\/p>\n

So earlier this year, I tried it again, with a new main character, a new narrative voice\u00a0and a new story name, “Busy Season” and\u00a0finally\u00a0“Death\u00a0or\u00a0Taxes.”\u00a0 Now center stage was\u00a0Gullett, the\u00a0even-dirtier partner in the firm and\u00a0a bumbler with\u00a0far more\u00a0depth for arc and potential\u00a0to connect. Marshal Holden was left as is–why mess with a great character?–and together they made for what I’d always wanted: a claustrophobic showdown leading, as such things do, to disaster.<\/p>\n

Sometimes inspiration arrives as a lightning bolt. Sometimes the idea\u00a0waits as static until properly channeled. For this one I needed three years.<\/p>\n

Writing. Most days the most important decision is never to give up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Behind the Writing Scenes of “Death or Taxes,” published in the July ’14 issue of Mysterical-E. Summer 2011: it was that purplish state of dawn.\u00a0My eyes flew open.\u00a0My breath caught in my throat. Inspiration had come. It was ready to bubble out, like it or not. And I liked it.\u00a0In short order I had finished\u00a01800… Continue reading Behind: “Death or Taxes”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,92,6],"tags":[65,9,4,70,5],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime-mystery-and-suspense","category-short-stories","category-this-whole-writing-thing","tag-behind-the-story","tag-crime-fiction","tag-southern-fiction","tag-witness-protection","tag-writing","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3CG0W-72","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":968,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=968","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":0},"title":"Derringer-ered!","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"April 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm incredibly proud\u00a0 that last year's\u00a0\"The Cumberland Package\"\u00a0(AHMM, May 2016) has been named a finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Derringer Awards.\u00a0 I mean, like busting-at-seams proud. Of being named, because the crime\u00a0space these days is terrific in\u00a0its voice\u00a0and depth. The\u00a0stuff that leaves me vibrating explores\u00a0in stark terms\u00a0human nature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2572,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=2572","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":1},"title":"2024 So Far:","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"March 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The new year isn't new anymore. 2024 has had some haps. Here's a few things going on, writing-wise. Murder, Neat A few years ago, the Sleuthsayers blog collective set out on a plan. An anthology plan. The Sleuthsayers ranks includes a few dozen terrific writers all with a love for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Murder-Neat-2024-Sleuthsayers-1-682x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1794,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=1794","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":2},"title":"ForSleuth! I’m Onboard SleuthSayers.","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"October 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 I'm excited and honored as of this morning to join the SleuthSayers gang for a monthly blog caper. SleuthSayers is both a favorite blog I've followed and a well-respected collaborative of some seriously talented short mystery fiction writers. Special guests, crime fighters, the works. These folks are long-established across\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Presentation1a-fingerprint-300x224.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":594,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=594","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":3},"title":"Behind: “First Rodeo”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"May 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you were around a century or so ago, and you\u00a0knew him well, you might call him Bill. On a legal document, William Sidney Porter. If you read any of his 300+ published stories, you knew him by his pen name:\u00a0O. Henry.\u00a0The name now commands a prestigious\u00a0short story\u00a0award, but more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Short Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Short Stories","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=92"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":758,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=758","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":4},"title":"Born Under a Bad Sign: Behind “The Cumberland Package”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"March 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Vernon Stagg was born\u00a0from a bad book. A manuscript actually, mine sadly, and fortunately for us all I abandoned it before the querying stage. This was 2011, early yet for me\u00a0into This Whole Writing Thing. The manuscript was a sort of Westlake-ian, Hiaasen-ian lovechild romp, and no matter what I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_2653 (1) (2)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_2653-1-2-300x185.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1329,"url":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?p=1329","url_meta":{"origin":436,"position":5},"title":"When Consequences Are Skunk Apes: “Problems Aren’t Stop Signs”","author":"rtmcontrol","date":"September 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I like writing about problems. As in, you know, their problematic nature. It's the stuff of a great story. And I had this idea for a writing challenge: take one self-inflicted problem and make every next sentence add a specific complication. Why, transgression zero\u2019s blowback would mount and mount and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime, Mystery & Suspense"","block_context":{"text":"Crime, Mystery & Suspense","link":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/robertmangeot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Mystery-Weekly-0918-Problems-231x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":773,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertmangeot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}