Another Obstacle

By C. LaRene Hall

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I hate changes. Maybe my age makes me rebel, but I doubt it. I’ve never liked changes. It probably stems from me having to move so many times while I was a young girl. For the first five years of school I attended a new one every year. That meant I had to make new friends and find my way around new surroundings the beginning of every school year. Of course, with that came new rules. Every new place has different sets of laws than the one before.

Recently I had to purchase a new computer with an updated Microsoft Word program. I doubt I’ll ever learn to use the new one as well as I used the old one. Every week I find something that I can’t figure out how to do. Somehow, I’m muddling through it, but it isn’t fun. I’d rather have the old one back with all the buttons where they belong. Then I can spend my writing time productively.

I’m thinking about this today because of the newest change to our phone system. Its fine when I use my cell phone because everything is programmed correctly, but when I have to pick up the office phone to place a call, I keep getting that annoying recording, “This local call now requires 10 digits . . .” It makes me rather angry. I wonder how long it’s going to take me to adjust my habits. Old ways of doing things are hard to break, especially when you’re older.

This makes me realize as a writer that if I can make my characters upset, my story will be better. If they are having challenges and changes, they are growing. It doesn’t mean they have to like what is happening to them. In fact, the more they don’t like it, the better the story will be. Your readers will keep reading because of the many obstacles you can place in the way.

Have a good week trying to get use to this new imposed phone system, and keep writing.