I’m going to attempt doing something I’ve never done before.
Take someone, in this case my blog followers, on the journey of developing a
new story idea. So for the next few weeks, my weekly post will be based on
developing a new story. I won’t be giving away loads of information about the
story I’m working on, just the basics. (Can’t be giving away all the details of
a future book.)
Unless you’re a writer you don’t really stop and think about
how much goes into developing a story. I mean why would you. You buy the book
to relax and be entertained, not break it down. Now, if you are a writer, you
know lots go into developing a story idea and then transferring it into an
awesome entertainment. Each writer has his or her own process. In some cases an
author will develop each story from a different approach. I know I do. But the
most common way I start with is: Brainstorming.
Brainstorming for me is sitting down and writing whatever
hits my head. Once again this is a method that can vary from person to person.
Some may use charts in brainstorming and others may consider using predefined
outlines as brainstorming. It’s a personal choice, and none are wrong if it
works for you. I warn you before you read further, what you read will sound
like a jumbled up mess of nonsense, but I swear it’s works for me and most of
the times turns into a wonderful story.
My Brainstorming
The house is quite. Everyone is still asleep. I can hear the
whirling of the fan sitting on my dresser. The light from my bedside table is casting
a shadow of my lamp over my Indian picture that my dad painted. It’s irritating
the shit out of me, because it’s darkening the eagle in the picture, which is
soothing to see. I love the faint yellow my dad put in the eagles’ eyes. It
gives the eagle a creepy yet scary look. Makes me think of a disapproving
father looking over his children from above. There is my story idea.
A story that is told from a ghost POV. It would be from an
omniscient POV. I don’t relish the idea of writing in that POV, so I’m going to
scratch telling from the ghost POV, because I don’t think I can get deep enough
into the characters doing so from that POV. I still like the idea of a father
overseeing his children’s life after his death, but I’m not feeling it as
strong as I was to start with. Hmmm. Okay not my story idea.
My fingers are drumming away on the silver part of my MAC. Frustration is creeping over me. My
skin is crawling with ideas, but none are vivid enough in my mind that I can
see where they want to go. Maybe some music will help. Maybe, I can scan my
movies. I’ve not seen a good vampire story in awhile. Might do to pull out some
of my old . . . Oh fudge there it is. My idea. Duh! How did I miss it?
The story need to start off with a young woman/man having
been told the huge family secret right after his/her 21st b-day
party ended. The father had hoped to never tell any of his children that his
family descended from a family of Vampires, because he rejected their horrid
way of life. Problem is his view of their life was warped because of past
experience inside his old style click. The majority of Vampires live peacefully
among the humans, never killing or taking from anyone other than a select few
who know of their true identity and willingly gave them blood. They only need
one pint of blood, animal, synthetic, or human blood a month to survive. The
rest of the time they eat and drink like humans. There are a few Vampires who
need emotional energy to survive, which can be gained by having sex or
involving ones self into a heated discussion. This father’s bloodline fits into
this anomaly and many misused the partaking of emotional energy in order to
force humans into huge brawls costing people their lives in violent ways. He
feared his children becoming one of these so he hoped by avoiding living in any
such manner he would compress his son’s urge when and if it came to be. His son
being only half energy vampire worked until the day his father tracked him down
because their Click Leader, had decided it was time to choose a full partner. A
full Partner choice comes from all eligible men and women in the click. The
father believed his and his son’s name had been taken off the register by the
previous Click Leader, but it looked as if he hadn’t been living lone Vampire
status like he’d assumed, which explained why he’d coped with begin alone for
so long. A vampire of any kind can live alone if they are blood bound to a click,
once the blood bond is broken it become natural instinct to hunt others kin and
mingle among them. Vampires, especially Energy Vampire crave a connection to
their own kind. The father’s old click leader swore his blood bond with the
Click had been severed, and he’d believed him, which is becoming the downfall
to his plan of keeping his son in the dark to his true nature.
End of My Brainstorming
Hope your were able to follow some of that writing ramble.
If not, I apologize, and hope it intrigues you enough to join me for the next
segment of the Writer’s Journey Post. In it, I will move onto the next phase of
my journey to create a new story. It’s gets even more interesting, because from
here I have to build the world, chose the characters, and decide how much
outlining, if any, will be used or if I’ll just be going by the seat of my
pants.
Have a great week and hope you join me next week for the next
part of the Writer’s Journey.
Remember let your imagination soar when you read and write.
Julia
