When I was in college many years ago, probably before most of you were born, cars were different.  There were no backup cameras. Many did not have outside mirrors. Only expensive cars had turn indicators.  To signal a turn, you had to put your arm out the window.  Straight out was a left turn. Up was a right turn, and down was a stop.  In beautiful weather that worked well.  In rainy or very cold weather, not so well.

Of course, most college students didn’t have a car, and that included me.  But, my best friend, Walt, had a car – a small coupe from the 40s.  It was old, but we worked to fix it up and keep it running.  The paint had literally just worn off and for most of the car, you were seeing the primer, the base coat the manufacturer had used first to coat the metal. But having it painted was beyond our budget. However, we could buy cans of spray paint and eventually got it covered. We thought it looked much better. There were dissenting views on this.

1940s coup

I don’t know whether it is possible today, but back then you could buy used oil. As the coupe burned a lot of oil, we bought used oil. One day,  Walt proudly showed me a box with a set of piston rings in it.  “We’re going to replace the rings.” Over a good many days, we did replace the rings. Only now, the engine would not even turn over.  We got a friend with a car to push the coupe pretty fast. Then Walt put it in gear and popped the clutch. The back wheels locked and slid along the pavement.  The motor did not turn a single revolution. After putting the car back in the yard under a tree, we had a nice car – whose engine would not turn even once.

Walt finally found a mechanic, explained the situation, and asked for advice. The mechanic said, “Everything must be perfectly clean. Perfectly.” End of advice. We thought we’d kept it clean. Maybe not perfectly clean.

Eventually, we took the engine apart, cleaned everything – perfectly.  Two weeks later,  it was back together. Walt hopped in, turned the key, and the battery turned the engine over. The coupe started, and no plume of smoke issued from the tailpipe. Nor did it ever again as long as Walt owned the car.

Now, how does this relate to writing?

A little careless writing can keep the entire engine (the plot) from moving. Just a little sloppiness can grind everything to a halt. Keep the writing clean. No bits of grit.  Don’t give the reader even small bits that aren’t needed. Or the reader may not find the motivation to motor on through your book.

jim