I have the basic idea of what the characters are trying to tell me in my head, but when it comes time to actually putting some order to the mess well, putt—putt, plllllttttt story inturuptous.
Pantser it? Yeah, I’ve considered that, but this story is already kind of a mess in my head, I can only imagine what would end up on the page without a little direction. ;)
Just this morning I had a blip of a scene jump into my head for this story, check it out…
(No kidding, this is exactly what came to me…all dialogue)
“Dang Billy, why the hell did you drag me out in this crap-assed weather?”
“It’s only a little rain, dude, besides you have to see this.”
“It’s a deluge.”
“It’s a dribble, Buck, now shut up and look.”
“It’s a fucking downpour, numb-nuts, nothing worth seeing in a—is that a…”
“You see it?”
“Um, yeah, I think…effing A, man, is that a…”
“Mermaid.”
“Nice rack!”
Now, as I read it, it really is useless…two human buddies gawking at the topless mermaid. How does that fit into the story? I tried to dismiss it and move on with other things, but no such luck. It sat there; clogging up the old noodle until I finally just typed it out and shoved it in the Dragon file…maybe someday, more will come to me to add to it.
So, does anyone else have crazy story snippets that won’t leave them be? Also, how do you whip a story into plotting mode if it’s resisting?
12 comments:
I like your mermaid flash fiction. It was funny! "Dude, look at the rack on this one!" LOL!
I get random acts of musing all the time and do just what you did- write it down so I can get it out of my head. It's kind of fun, really. Everynow and then, I go brown my flash folder when I'm stuck with a story and get ideas. I've found homes for some of the more adaptabled ones.
Thanks Rebecca! My muse sure was insistant on getting me to jot down these two guys exchange, hopefully there will be more too it in the future because they were kind of fun to write. ;)
Oh lordy. I've been where you are so many times it isn't even funny. I'm sort of there right now, since I just finished a story that came into being when a snippet wouldn't leave me alone. Now I'm floundering around (speaking of mermaids) wondering what to do next. I thought I had an idea and tried to write a beginning, but it just fell flat on the page.
In a case like this, I read over old notes, inventory abandoned stuff and do my daily scribbles. Basically, I screw off. Eventually something hits. If this world of yours really wants to exist, it'll pick its own time and then crash into you with such force you won't be able to not write it. If not, well, maybe you'll get something else done.
Another trick to jumpstart the muse is to check out market reports. Three of my four published romances came about because I was trying to get into a Samhain anthology. Nothing like hopes of a sale dangled before you to get the juices flowing.
Loved the dialog between Billy and Buck. "Nice rack," indeed. Would the title happen to be "Redneck Mermaid"? I didn't even know Atlantis had a trailer park.
Lol, Redneck Mermaid, yep Pat or it could be titled Hillbilly Hooternannay ~ Ooooh, sorry everyone, I just had to go there...hehehe
Oh an Atlantis trailer park indeed, filled with lots of little air pocket houses. ;)
Good advice, keep working through the here and now stuff, of which, I have plenty. Except Mr. Dragon and Miss Mermaid are coming in closer everyday...
Market reports, I hear ya on those. I occasionally do the MR shuffle. It does get the juices flowing. In fact, I happen to notice that Silver publishing is looking for Christmas and Valentines shorts...I'm just saying. hehe
Good luck working out that flash story!
Serena, given I have an absolute love for dragons and merfolk, I sure hope your story arrives.
I've been dying to pen dragon and mermaid stories and have few waiting the humongous WIP files.
Everyone has given great advice. I get those snippet scenes in my head all the time. I try to get them written out, so I can move on or incorporate them. All of my stories have basically begun that way, although some arrive with more backstory and plot.
If you want to use that cool human dialogue, it could be that your heroine mermaid, if there is one, is listening to them with her super-senstive hearing or psi senses. Because who would arrive on a beach populated by humans without being dang careful and aware of who is there... unless, of course, you're injured and out of it.
I love when our muses decide to take a walk on the wild side. Some clever things come out. I see the dialogue such that the mermaid over hears them as she finds her self beached after a storm or something and maybe a biologist finds her. Now my muse will want to run with this. Sorry Pris this is not our idea. Yes my muse has a name Priscilla aka Pris.
Savanna, I would love to read a story by you with dragons and merfolk! Ah yes, if only we had more time. ;)
Good idea for the dialogue, I like the injured mermaid take... hmm, I might have to take another look at it with that in mind. :) Thanks!
Hey Solara,
Pris, I love it, what a great name for a muse! And a mermaid and a biologist story, nice. I'm going to have to give that some thought as well. Thanks!
LOL...it is amazing what our muses can come up with some times.
Funny, but just recently I watched the Futerama episode where Fry falls in love with a mermaid. Maybe a biologist could figure out how to become, well, intimate when dealing with a fishtail.
Hehe, Pat I've had the same thoughts. How does one "love" a mermaid? In fact, I went to sleep last night trying to reason it out in my head and my last thought on the subject was... OMG I'm trying to make fish sex, sexy!!
Some days, I love my job! lolololol
Yeah, that's a toughie. Unless she can form legs, like Darryl Hannah did in Splash, it's gotta be nothing but oral. With Fry, his merlady expected to leave her eggs on the bed and swim off so he could squirt his fertilizer on them. Biologically accurate, but unromantic.
Maybe they do it snake style...
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