Author Life Musings: Vintage Fans and Story Plans

I have this fan on my desk that I got from an outdoor wedding some years back. The wedding took place in summer, so they gave people fans because it was very hot outside. But that’s neither here nor there. The thing is, the fan always gives me vintage vibes. Which is interesting because, at the wedding, that wasn’t the case. But as it sits next to the other belongings I use for book photography, it has a whole different vibe. The lantern, foliage, and quill pen change things up. It’s so interesting how context can totally change how something makes you feel.

What does this have to do with books and story plans? Well, it got me thinking about something I did in a class recently at a writers conference. We did this exercise where we wrote a scene with a specific genre, mood, and tailored to a certain age range. Then, we rewrote the same scene, but changed the genre, mood, and what age it was tailored to. It was so interesting! The scene we were working on involved someone needing to cross a crowded room to reach a door. Like the fan’s vibes changing based on context, the two scenes we ended up with were so different, even though they were following the same prompt. It’s amazing that changing only three things can create an entirely new voice and story!

I’ve since wondered what would happen if I did this with some of my short stories and flash fiction. One story in particular came to mind. A flash fiction piece I wrote called I Am the Key to Ambiance. I now wonder what would happen if I changed the genre, mood, and the audience I wrote it for. I think I will add this exercise to my story plans.

What do you think? Should I write a new version of I Am the Key to Ambiance, then publish the story on my website next year?