The Jeopardy Problem
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There are many reasons that I struggle with producing fiction. 1) It's very hard work. 2) I get people mixed up all the time in real life. There's no suggestion that I would find fiction any different, and I worry about accidentally marrying people off to their Mother-in-law. 3) There's a strong possibility that I may be rubbish at it. 4) Grammar. No one has a go at my grammar in my own blog, but I think that my use of the English language would make an editor faint. 5) Jeopardy. I'm not sure that I can do it. Anne Lamott says that jeopardy is essential for fiction, no matter how gentle. She says, quite reasonably, I think, that without jeopardy there is no story. Jeopardy can range from a woman tied up under a bridge waiting for her killer to come back (about 80% of TV output these days) to wondering if people in a tiny English village will sell enough books to keep their bookshop dream alive. The Bible is obviously packed to the brim with jeopardy. Will Samson fal...