SO - more secrets today. Where do writers get their ideas for the stories they create?
In Monday's post I told you about my element envelopes. I used four of these envelopes when picking elements for the first two stories in Naked Ladies - Seasons of the Heart. Those envelope labels were: holiday, animal, weather, and situation. But there are more envelopes, and some new ones come into play with stories three and four.
Story three is called, "Unlikely Deliverance." Here's a short blurb: Rebecca works as a teacher's aide, and harbors a terrible secret: her father is serving time in prison. When a student, Jace, discovers - and reveals - her secret, she tries to get the young man suspended from school, only to find that his father's wrath rivals that of her own physically abusive father. To make matters worse, Rebecca's dad gets out on parole. Rebecca wonders: will I ever feel safe again?
So what kind of information is in the other element envelopes? The label on one envelope reads: Relationship. (I plucked out the word 'father' for "Unlikely Deliverance.") In this story, the envelope containing the Situation label contained the phrase: 'physical abuse.' I picked a second phrase from this same envelope to give me more ideas, and drew 'prison.'
And then, creativity takes over. My mind whirrs, and the story begins to come. There are stops and starts as the story unfolds. Times when it stops completely, and refuses to go down the path I initially chose. But eventually, my muse writes the story.
In story four, "The Liar," our protagonist is also a younger woman, in this case, a teen. The blurb: Kendra has a terrible secret: her father is terrorizing her family. Distraught over the hopelessness of her life at home, she strikes out at a popular high school teacher. Her web of lies threatens to destroy that teacher's career. Then, Kendra's home situation escalates. After all her deceit, can she admit her mistakes and find an ally who will help her save the life of her younger brother?
Can you guess the envelopes and the elements that I pulled from them? Obviously, the word 'liar' or 'deceit' was one of the elements I drew.
And again, neither of these stories is in anyway autobiographical. I was not the victim of physical abuse as a child, or as an adult. However, I have been in some scary situations and experienced verbal abuse. Those experiences help to color the story and make the dialogue more realistic.
Stay tuned for more about story development in Naked Ladies next week. Meanwhile, check out the book page on Smashwords, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/349717.
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