Sep 04 2008
Haunting
Recently I turned twenty one, just this past sunday to be precise. I don’t have anything profound to say about it, I’m just excited :)
Anyhow, on to the real stuff. I’m basking today in the writer’s new born glow. If my book were a child, this would be an accidental pregnancy, and I would be sooo happy that I didn’t think to have a condom at hand. Oh, and the discovery channel would be the baby’s daddy.
Yesterday, I was mentally zombified, and planned to further that zombification by digging a groove into the couch and hunkering down for the winter. But I thought ‘You know, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to bring my notebook out here, and jot down some ideas if they happen to come up.” I didn’t think anything would blossom from that endeavor, but as I was watching ‘A Haunting’ on discovery channel, it came to me! My characters mother was not only dead, but she had also been a paranormal investigator. Yeah, it’s not as exciting to you, but I tell ya, it opened my creative flood gates! I haven’t been this excited about ideas since the first time I tried writing this book… lol
And another little insight, I made my original character from the first version of this novel, into my new character’s mother. It’s kind of a symbolic move, I’d been trying to make the plot thicker by giving my girl a little child of her own that her sister raised- with a baby’s daddy that she loathes. Now that I’ve really revamped the plot (gave it drippy gravy dressings to match it’s new modern setting) I wanted to make my character the one who had been raised by and aunt, having never met her mother. It seemed natural to make Jalini, my favorite main character to date, into my new main charcter’s mother. She really doesn’t have a place in the new story, but I couldn’t kick her out competely. I had to pay homage to the original. And I’m glad that I did, because now I have an excuse to give my new girl some qualities of her dear mother. Like a pinch of hard-core feminism. That was my favorite thing to write, and I think it’s the reason I never stopped dreaming of revamping Peridot Earth. Now I even have to change the title… that’s sad but fulfilling in a sense.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe it’s not such a good idea to force yourself to only write at this time of day, in this particular setting. Inspiration doesn’t come when it’s called, but it does pop up randomly. I’m going to try and start writing more randomly throughout my days, in new settings, to mix it up. But!! I still stand by my conviction that you should write everyday.
Prompt:
A lot of people I know smoke the cig. Nicotine addiction is fascinating, because people who have never smoked don’t understand and are disgusted by people who have to smoke a couple times a day. People I know who have quit smoking are usually repulsed by the smell now that they don’t need it anymore. My friends are apologetic for smoking, but still do it. Like a necessary evil. There’s a girl in my pharmacy tech program who has financial trouble, and is very knowledgable about the effects of smoking- yet she still smokes two packs or so a day. She also drinks three coke’s a day, and feels exhausted most of the time. These unhealthy and expensive habits are her vice.
Excluding the chemical side of addictions, what is it about things that aren’t good for us? Is the danger appealling? Or for the thrill of the rebellion? People know things are bad for them, yet they do them anyway. The lifestyle may suck them in. Explore the idea of someone who’s in three stages of addiction-
- The first taste. What made them try it in the first place? Was it spur of the moment whim? Were their friends encouraging them? Take a look into the character’s age, social status, and play around with time settings. For example, maybe it’s back in the day before nicotine was a dirty word.
- Deep in it. Three packs a day. Four bottles a night. Five times in one weekend. Are they disgusted with themselves, but feel stuck? Why are they stuck? Is it mostly the physical dependancy, or did the lifestyle drag them in and they don’t know how to live any other way? This maybe should be years after their first taste, to give your character the comfort in longevity. Adds conflict :)
- Finally- post-addiction. They quit. Why? How long did it take? Did they need professional help or was it cold-turkey? How do they feel towards their former friends that are still addicted? Maybe they want to help people now, or can they not even handle entering that world again… Whowie, that’s lots of lovely conflict for a simple prompt :) I’m proud of this one
