The Copy

Abstract

"The Copy" is a story that questions the nature of second chances and lost opportunities in a time when technology offers possibilities as well as social and emotional complications. Their marriage falling apart, Andrew and Stephanie were on the edge of separation before Andrew's cancer destroyed a traditional second chance. When Andrew leaves behind a perfect copy of himself after his death, Stephanie doesn't know it was his final attempt to bring them together again and thinks it's all a cruel joke. Forced to live with a copy she doesn't want, Stephanie struggles to come to terms with her own faults. In the first drafts, Andrew did everything he could to make Stephanie happy, before and after his death, and it was apparent that they loved each other very much. The main struggle centered around Stephanie's grief and wanting the "real" Andrew back after his death. However, it was clear that in the original drafts, Stephanie's character didn't change enough by the end. There was not much of an epiphany, nor was there a gradual realization of anything significant. Without this fundamental character change, a story becomes pointless. After much restructuring, Andrew and Stephanie's relationship changed. They were no longer "generally happy." They were tormented. They couldn't stand each other anymore, and stayed together only for their child, Beck. In turn, Stephanie's character strengthened. In this improved version, she has a mission that cannot seem to be completed: get rid of the copy. The story's alterations opened a bigger world of possibilities and in the end Stephanie does indeed change in ways she never could have in the earlier drafts.