My Version, no. Maybe . . . Changes, no, 'Enters'. Or how about . . .

I have a hard time with change.

I should be used to it by now, but that's one of several outcomes.

I don't have a name, or I have too many. Few things in my life stay the same. I'm a girl in an unpublished book, that is certain. Even the unpublished part. This doc is so torn up, no one will ever understand it, so no one will publish it. When I say 'torn up' I mean half-finished ideas, starts to chapters, and quotes no one has said yet. They're all separate. Our author, Janice Lauren, typed 'Enter' a few times to keep each idea solitary, to organize them.

Like that would help.

As I said, I have too many names, and yet none. When this story was first thought of, it was original, and in my opinion, perfect. My name was Yoshiko, the Japanese name meaning 'Joy', and back then, I was joyful. I remember when my character was first made, I was a Japanese gardener. I cared for cherry trees and sold cherries at a small market. I had a beautiful singing voice, and made up my own songs while I was in the garden.

Since then, I've been a heroine for dozens of totally differing stories. I was an archer, then a sword fighter, I knew how to ride horses, then I was afraid of horses, I even jumped timelines, briefly I was a real estate agent! There were several boy characters when Janice was into romance. I'm glad she got over that, there were far too many suitors. My life is like rapids in a river, constantly moving and switching directions, never the same for more than a few seconds. Even the way I look has changed. When I was an archer, I had short blond hair and green eyes, when I was afraid of horses I had brown hair and blue eyes. My name changed several times in each story, but I've held on to Yoshiko. Even though it has long since been deleted, I like to think a little girl picking cherries in a sun-soaked garden is still me.

But my life has turned since then. Like a cloud passing over the sun, bringing a sudden chill, Janice's self-doubt sent a tremor through my story.

Most stories have a 'Pit'. The lowest part of the book where things are the worst, where side characters die, and if it's a bad book, where the book ends. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I have opinions on books. I don't like depressing endings. I know not everything about life is great, nobody feels on top of the world all day. But that doesn't mean there aren't good things. There's good food, and reading beneath a tree in summer, there's nature, and friends.

I want a book to have a good ending. Why make a character everyone likes if their life goes downhill and they end up feeling miserable? That isn't a good thing, and writers should make good things! Inspire your readers, make a book they want to share.

I went through several Pits, dark, scary times, when characters were killed, and often, there was an escape, they didn't have to die. But authors like killing characters to try and get emotion from the reader. I get it, sometimes there's no other way, or there's a really unrealistic way, but if a character has to die, make it for a good reason. John 15: 13, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Yes, I included a verse from the Bible. One of the categories for this story is 'Christian' don't hate my story if you just don't agree with me, please.

My point is, make the death, if it must happen, worthwhile. Make the characters sacrifice themselves to save those they love, that will bring more emotion and inspiration to your readers than killing for the sake of it. I've had both versions in my book.

I had a friend for a long time, I can't remember his original name, who got caught in the Pit and was murdered by the villain in a castle. We were a few feet from a window, our escape, he was right beside me, I swung over the windowsill and was facing inside the dark castle hall. He was running after me, tripping in the thick hallway carpet, a light of terror in his eyes, when everything seemed to pause. The villain was in the shadows behind us, but no one moved. I knew Janice was thinking of what to do next, she was trying to figure out what to type. Please, just this once, let him make it. Please let him live, we're so close! I'd had this character in my story for so long. He was a quiet, humorous man, and out of all the characters I'd been with, I think he was my favorite. We had a clear way out, but for the sake of the Pit, the insatiable beast, Janice killed him. The villain threw an enchanted spear, it went right through my friend, and he sank to the floor. I wanted to run back for him, I wanted to confront the villain, who was laughing triumphantly. I wanted to change my story, the way Janice could so easily. But Janice forced me to climb out the window alone, she forced me to leave him. I rode (this was when I wasn't afraid of horses) into the night. And that version of my story ended that way, on a bad note.

Janice added a few 'Enters' and wrote a different version, in a completely new setting, and I had yet another name.

Oh, hold on, Janice is typing again. It looks like she has an old notebook. Wait, I recognize it! It's the notebook she used when she first thought of me, when I was a gardener. She's come to her senses, I'm going home!

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Yoshiko . . .

And there were no more 'Enters'.