The Pricelessness of Problem-Solving

 

Working Girl has one of my favorite scenes in any movie, but this one has little to do with the plot and nothing to do with the relationships, which is unusual for a rom-com.

During a corporate meeting, the head honcho relates a news story about a truck that was too tall to clear an underpass and the little girl who suggested that they simply deflate the tires enough to lower the vehicle, thus solving the problem.

That bit merely acted as a segue into the rest of the scene. I’ve wondered what came first: the screenwriter having read about the truck incident or the necessity of including an interesting segue. 
In one specific case, for me, it was the latter.

I’m often asked which of my books is my favorite. If you’re a writer, you know that’s like asking a parent to choose their favorite child. Instead, I relate one of my favorite scenes. 

Gil, the main character in The Gollywhopper Games, is faced with a dilemma. One of his five teammates is cheating which threatens to disqualify them all. He could call the guy out, but unless he can prove the guy’s hearing aid is really an earpiece with someone feeding him the answers, the guy will just deny it.

That was my dilemma as well. I needed Gil to solve this issue for me. Except…

I am Gil. I needed me to solve it for him.

It finally dawned on me that if Gil could get this materialistic guy to take out the earpiece for just a minute…hmm… yeah…that would work.

I'd already written that Gil carried a lucky penny. So, I backtracked to mention, in passing, that he had a hole in his pants pocket. Now, Gil simply needed to let his lucky penny slide through the hole and drop onto the floor. When the guy looked toward the tiny clink, it proved he wasn’t hearing impaired in the least.* 
Problem solved!

Why is this a favorite scene? Not because it's vital to the heart of the story. It’s how solving it made me feel smart. 

That’s the beauty of facing a problem and beating it. Solving even the smallest problem can give us a feeling of accomplishment. And the sensation that comes with it is priceless.

It seems that Jody Feldman is really good at writing herself into corners. She hopes she's becoming more skilled at getting herself out because this one character is currently in a real mess. 

*The full scene, including the necessity to stop another teammate from cheating, is in Chapter 10, should you want to read it.