Owen McKenna And Pumpkin Pie

It's axiomatic in writing fiction that if you want to create a believable character, you have to know EVERYTHING about that character.

Just when I might have thought I knew everything about Owen McKenna and his Great Dane Spot, I had a piece of pumpkin pie for the holiday.

I realized that I didn't really know what Owen thought about pumpkin pie. (Yes, of course, I knew Spot would inhale it with enthusiasm.) I would have assumed that Owen liked pie the same way he likes donuts. But I didn't really KNOW.

Most people would think that it makes no difference. But bringing specificity to a story is what creates what we call "the suspension of disbelief." While it might be sufficient to have Owen simply like pumpkin pie, it would help if we knew what kind of whip cream he used, and if he maybe sticks the whip cream spray nozzle in his mouth for a power shot and maybe does the same for Spot. That would be amusing. But more importantly, watching McKenna play whip cream games with Spot would make the scene absolutely believable. Once you've seen a Great Dane leaping into the air to grab a lofting, floating blob of whip cream that McKenna has shot from the spray can, there would be no more doubt about whether or not the event really happened. It would no longer be fiction in the reader's mind.

I guess I better get to know Owen and Spot even better!

Happy holidays.