Day 6 - dreams and things???

Hi all
If you’ve read previous posts you’ll know that this is how it goes...I will ask questions of my PC. (It sometimes seems as if the thing knows more than me anyway – especially when it pleases itself as to whether it will work properly or not!)But actually my PC is my best friend and to me it is more than just a machine. It helped me enormously with my last book...I ask it ( myself) lots of questions to get in touch with the creative less conscious part of my mind. Some would say that most of my mind is unconcious!!!! But never mind that...Puctuation, grammar and sentence construction are not mportant for this so I must apologise straight away if I offend purists amongs you. But this is only for getting ideas assimilated and sometimes quick responses will be needed. The only other proviso is I must tell the truth!Let's continue...

Day 6

PC - Well hello there... Finally decided to show eh??

Me - Been having probs with the techy side of things. As you well know - you crashed on me! Anyway have finally got sorted but had to wipe my hardrive totally clean. Lost everything... Good job this is only my laptop and I have most things on my desktop PC in Lanzarote.

PC - Sorry about that but the hard drive is King!!!!

- Had a few more ideas though so wanted to run them past you...

- Fire away.

- I was thinking about dreams and how peculiar they often are. But one thing I have noticed is that sometimes if you are thinking about a particular thing when you go to sleep it often figures in dreams - and I remember from exam days and studying that sometimes when you are struggling to find answers they can sometimes come to you the following morning after a good nights sleep.

- Thats true. The way the brain works is still poorly understood I believe...

- Yeh - it's almost as if the brain keeps working on the problem whilst you are asleep and comes up with an answer when it is refreshed.

- This happen to you a lot, then?

- Sadly no... But it has happened a few times.

- So how is this earth shattering information going to figure into your story?

- Don't be sarky! Not totally sure but what if the main character trained herself (since she was a small girl) to remember her dreams?

- Why would she do that?

- Maybe something happened when she was little that scared her and she needed to rememeber? Room for lots more speculation about back story and character motivation there...

- Okay I can see how something could affect her so badly that she does this. But why?

- It sinply makes her the person she is. Possible determined and controlling. Hating to be at the mercy of things she doesn't understand.

- Plenty of people like that for sure.

- I need to think some more about why she's like this but for now that will do.

- I always thought most people couldn't remember dreams - at least not for long. Dreams are like wisps of fog - hard to hang onto.

- But snatches of dreams often come back to people in unexpected ways. And anyway most people do remember odd bits for a little while. What if there was a way to hold onto the dream and the subconcsious could be trained to recall certain things.

- I think the brain would crack up and not have room for all the dreams as well as memories...

- I disagree. I think we really don't have any idea of the brain's capacity.

- Some people can train their subconscious minds to wake up at a certain time without an alarm clock for instance so I think my character could train herself to go to sleep with a problem and wake up with some kind of clue at least???

- Sounds a bit loopy to me...

- Could be linked to the synaesthesia and psychic phenomena and be believable...

- So this character is going to be some kind of dream catcher?

- Yes! She could use this ability to help someone and get herself in all kinds of trouble along the way. But ultimately she could solve a crime or problem.

- Sounds like she is superwoman or a comic book charcter.

- No she will have flaws and be very human. The supernatural traits will not be the main substance of the story.

- Why not?

- Cos I want it to be about human endeavour not a special gift.

- Okay but is she going to get answers in dreams - thats not very gripping is it?

- No not answers but maybe - just occasionally - some insights or clues.

- Why give her all this baggage?

- To make her a much more interesting character who will stand out from the crowd in the eyes of the reader.

- So is this going to be the crux of the story?

- No - I think the plot will be about much more important things.

- Shouldn't this character have some flaws?

- Yes - not quite figured that yet.

- Well before you make her some kind of super being maybe you'd better work on more earthly charcteristics. Like what makes her tick and what is her driving force? What is her achilles heel and what makes her the person she is - warts and all.

- Yes, yes I will do that in a full character study but I just wanted to put a rough idea of what makes her different down. It will all be understated and anyway I think I have to have some plot ideas next so the two can develop further together.

- Is this the way it is done then?

- It's the way I do it. So I can dovetail the character and story together. The motivations of the main charcter and her adversaries must oppose each other and will form the basis of the main story.

- What about the 'what if' factor?

- Yep! Plenty of room to delve into that too. In fact thats what this conversation is about. What if....


More soon...





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Day 5 - More thoughts

Day 5

- PC- Hi again. Good to see you.

- Me – yeh me too – I think… Not got much tome today but I can put some thoughts down and see what you think.

- Fire away.

- - Back to the main character. She has left her job cos she had a falling out with a GP and she is also struggling with the synaesthesia. This is not something she was born with – she developed it a few years ago when she had some kind of accident? Hit her head maybe?

- Could have been a car accident?

- No I think it should be something more mundane

- Nah this is a story, remember and you don’t pull the punches remember?

- Okay then – but not a car accident. Maybe she was in a train crash…

- Mmmm…. Perhaps she could get flashbacks later in the story which disturb her - send her a bit crazy? It could also be a fatal flaw in her personality??

- Yes that could work… she doesn’t cope too well sometimes and it affects her work?

- Do you mean like post traumatic stress disorder?

- Mmmm…

- Could work – lots of opportunity for conflict.

- Not too much though. We still want her to be likable charcter.

- Well we could show her suffering and her conflicting emotions to engender some sympathy. Also we can show her daughter being less than helpful?

- Sounds useful – ish but I’m still not sure about if it will make her likable.

- Well, we’ll see how it pans out. I can come back to this later…

- Got to go now – will think some more…

Day 4 Ramble, ramble ramble....

- PC - Good morning. How are you today?

- Me - Bit tired today. Swanwick over - but a really good week was had by all methinks.... I thoroughly enjoyed it and I picked up quite a few useful tips etc.

- So back to the project now?

-Yeh suppose so. Feel a bit sluggish so you may need to help me get my brain in gear...

-So this woman - Mel - what does she look like?

-I kind of picture her as being a bit like Meryl Streep.

- Right but I think you need a bit more detail.

- Okay - police description coming up. Height 5 foot 6inches, medium build, longish fair hair, blue eyes, pretty - ish but nose a bit too long and mouth a bit too wide. She has a sparkling smile though that crinkles the sides of her eyes.

- So what kind of clothing does she wear?

- not sure about that. Will need to think some more...

- why choose this description?

- she strikes me as a practical capable woman with a sharp wit but she does not suffer fools galdly??

- I think you need more back story to know why she is what she is and what made her that way, don't you think? Especially for what makes her tick.

-yeh. I think I will think about a driving passion for her and some strong motivators. This lady is definitely a strong woman.

- Well you need to think about what makes her that way. What does she have in her past and upbringing and what makes her the person she is today.

- She must have a strong need to help people - thats why she became a nurse.

- okay but what about her parents and siblings?

- I think she may have nursed her mother through some serious illness and maybe been th eldest child looking after siblings??

- No no. That sounds too contrived.

- Okay - well I need to think about it a bit more. Got to go now - will cogitate a bit more....

More later...

Day 3 More random thoughts - or - constructing a plot is like knitting mist!

Hi all
If you’ve read previous posts you’ll know that this is how it goes...
I will ask questions of my PC. (It sometimes seems as if the thing knows more than me anyway – especially when it pleases itself as to whether it will work properly or not!)
But actually my PC is my best friend and to me it is more than just a machine. It helped me enormously with my last book...I ask it ( myself) lots of questions to get in touch with the creative less conscious part of my mind. Some would say that most of my mind is unconcious!!!! But never mind that...Puctuation, grammar and sentence construction are not mportant for this so I must apologise straight away if I offend purists amongs you. But this is only for getting ideas assimilated and sometimes quick responses will be needed. The only other proviso is I must tell the truth!
Let's continue...

-(PC) Are you ready now?

_(Me) Sort of - been thinking things through a bit whilst in lectures this morning.

- I think you were supposed to be listening...

_ I listened a bit too...

- So where did we get to yesterday?

- The main character is what I want to try to do today.

- Have you got a name for her yet - I presume we are still doing a her?

- HER name is Mel (short for Melanie) She's 39years old.

- Why that age? Why not 29 or 59?

- Cos I want her to be old enough to have a teenage daughter but not so old she's not fit and active.

_ Ha! Thats a bit ageist isn't it? Old equates to unfit and unactive?

- You know what I mean... Stop being arguementative!

-Okay. Well you must have something in mind plotwise if you have decided she has a teeneage daughter?

- I thought it would be an opportunity to easily introduce extra conflict - as anyone who lives with a teenager readily knows... Also I have some vague plot elements in mind that come from a short story of mine... I may or may not use this.

- So what does this charcter do?

- She's an ex-nurse turned private investigator - maybe. Not too sure yet...

_ Elaborate!

_ I want her to be a series character with an enquiring mind and a background I know something about.

_ Oh um - yeh. You're an ex-nurse aren't you?

-As if you didn't already know that!

- yeh, yeh, (yawns) Boring....

- No this ex-nurse has some special characteristics... She suffers from synaesthesia.

_ Oh right. Whats that then?

- It's where the brain mixes up it's interpretations of the senses. For example a person might experience 'smell' as a colour or might 'hear' inanimate things when they are touched. Vladimir Nabokov - him who wrote 'Lolita' had it.

- How did you know that?

- I read about it.

- Oh - should be interesting....


More tomorrow...

Day 2 First thoughts

- (PC )There you are. How are you today?

- (Me) Feel ok today. I'm at Swanwick writers school and thoroughly enjoying it!

-But are you learning anything?

-Yep - I think so.... Been discussing dialogue and settings today. How to thread settings through the story rather than one big lump of description - I don't think I tend to do that anyway. Or do I???? Nah - don't think so. I mostly tell everything through viewpoint. Some of the examples that were read out were really quite funny.

-So what about this story of yours then?

-mmmm.. Been thinking 'bout it but as usual I'm getting hung up on names for my main characters.

-Yes, yes but never mind about charcters - what is the story about?

- Don't be so bloody impatient. I'm trying to think about it!

_ Okay. So what is it to be - Thriller or crime?

- Both!

- Okay... So now we're getting somewhere.

-Well, I had this rather vague idea in my head about a retired nurse who takes up a bit of private investigative work...

- Yes?

_ She has a sidekick called David Charcoal.

- Charcoal? Charcoal? What kind of a name is that? You burn it don't you?

- Just heard it somewhere and rather liked the sound of it. The sidekick is devoted to the PI and does a lot of the physical stuff. He's kind of not that bright? And he also lends a lighthearted side to the story.

- Where has this come from? And what are you doing deciding the secondary character before the main one?

- Don't know - this one just seemed to present itself to me.

- So have you got a name for the main character?

_ Well, thats where I'm stuck, duh! I told you that before.

- Okay well lets unstick you. Pick a first name out of the baby book and a surname out of the phone book.

- No - it doesn't work like that for me. The character's name has to speak to me and it must suit the story.

_ For Christs sake - you haven't even got a story yet!

_ Okay, okay but don't shout at me!

_ Well, lets' look at plot then. Is this book going to include some supernatural stuff like previous stories?

- Maybe... Perhaps the PI has special abilities??

- Oh great. That will make her job easier, eh? (Sarcastically)

- Perhaps just a small ability?

_ Okay. We'll come back to that later 'cos I want to know how and why she had special ability. That will have to be back story of course. So what is the main plot going to be about?

- I think I fancy a murder most foul!! And a love interest and a mystery. And... And....

- Oh Crikey!!


More tomorrow...

Where to start?? Or me and PC.

So here I am - about to start mind-storming a new novel! Perhaps I should just mind-storm where to start???
Okay - this is how it will go. I will sk questions of my PC! You see, my PC is my best friend and to me it is more than just a machine. It actually helped me with my last book...
I ask it ( myself) lots of questions to get in touch with the creative less conscious part of my mind. Some would say that most of my mind is unconcious!!!! But never mind that...
Puctuation, grammar and sentence construction are not mportant for this so I must apologise straight away if I offend purists amongs you. But this is only for getting ideas assimilated and sometimes quick responses will be needed. The only other proviso is I must tell the truth!
Let's begin...

-PC (PC) Morning Pat. How are you today?

-Me (Pat) Feeling a bit sluggish but trying to get into gear.

-yeh - sometimes it's hard to get motivated aint it?

-I'm hoping this will get me going... You know I think I feel better already - having made a start. As all aspiring writers know - the hardest bit is putting the first words down. Come to think of it thats what runners say too - the hardest step is the one out of the door!

- Yeh Go for it...

- MMMmm...

- So where were we? Oh yes - what's this book going to be about?

-Well I usually write thrillers - I love reading them. So I guess thats a start.

-Yes,yes but we need more than that. Do you have a subject matter or any other ideas in mind?

- I think I may make the main character a nurse??

- Definitely a start....