Well the week didn't go as good as planned. I did finally get some writing started after having to redo a few chapters to correct the flow. I am now back on track and will move forward from here.
After such a long pause, my brain had to remember where my characters were going. I now have them back on track and can finish the story. I will this week also try to work a bit on the other two stories I have begun along with doing some writing group work virtually.
Below is a short prompt story I wrote with my writing group with the main character in Haven House for you to enjoy in the meantime. It is a bit of backstory.
A CONVERSATION WITH MY CHARACTER
Needing to know more about my protagonist and who she was, I decided to sit down and have a conversation with her.
“Jill, in order to write a great story, I need to know who you are, what you like, and what it is that you want the most?”
“So that’s why you’ve been digging into my private life? What do you want to know?”
I didn’t want to frighten Jill off. I would begin with something easy and take it from there.
“Let’s start with what it is that you want most to happen.”
Jill put her hand on her forehead like she needed to consider the question. “I want to know the real reason for the secrets hidden beneath the house.”
“Is there anything you’re afraid of when you go down there?”
“Yes. There is one section that I haven’t been able to reach. I am terrified about what I will find at the end.”
I decided to go to a place that might be more pleasant for my character.
“Jill, what is your most treasured childhood memory?”
“That would be the day I spent with my mother. We went to the beach and had a picnic. She walked with me along the edge of the water because I didn’t know how to swim yet. When she put me to bed that night, my mother kissed me on the cheek and told me she loved me.”
That’s good to know for when I do some of her backstories. Now to get to something more useful to keep my readers interested. “Jill, when you discovered what was under your house, how did it make you feel?”
Jill got up and walked over to the window, looking out for a few minutes before answering. “It was thrilling and frightening at the same time. I had no idea where it would take me, and the areas were so dark. I am afraid of the dark, you know.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. What happened to make you afraid of the dark? Did something happen to cause that feeling?”
Jill acted like she didn’t want to go there and just shrugged her shoulders, indicating she didn’t want to go there.
“Jill, it may be important to know the reason because it may be imperative to how you react at times. I would really like to know?”
“Okay. The night my mother died, we had a terrible thunderstorm. The lights went out, and it got really, really dark. I screamed for my parents, but no one came. Not my mother and not my father. I hid under my bed until the next morning, when my Dad came and made me come out. Since then, if the room or area is dark, you know, like black dark, I start to shake.”
I could see that just thinking about it caused her to start shaking. Better take it somewhere else for a time. What do I want to know most about Jill? Maybe we can discuss her time growing up with only her father.
“Jill. After your mother died, you and your father stayed in the house. What was it like to be brought up by just your father? Did the two of you do a lot of things together? Do you have special memories from that time?”
“Whoa! Slow down. One question at a time. Yes, Dad told me when I got older that he couldn’t leave the house because all of his memories with Mom were there. Most of the days I went to school, and he went to work. At night he would help me with my homework and then watch tv until it was my bedtime.”
“So you had a pretty normal life then. Tell me about the library?”
Jill shook her head no. I had to insist as it was essential to the story I was writing. I had to find a way to pull it out of her.
“Jill, let’s do this together. I know that after your mother died, the door was locked until just two months ago. Was there a reason for that? Did your father think it was a danger to you?”
After a few minutes, Jill gave in. “When Dad finally unlocked the library door, he told me it was my mother’s library, and he never went in there with her. He said my mother always insisted that she needed a private place of her own, so he let it be. When she died, he just locked the door. Maybe it reminded him too much of all the time she spent in there away from him.”
Now I’m getting somewhere. I need more, though. “Did your father tell you why he finally unlocked the library door and let you go in?”
“He knew I always was reading and that the library contained many books, so told me that could now be my private place.”
Will return at the end of February to update you again. Maybe, if I can get going the book could be out sooner. We will see. Until then, I will work on some videos also for presentation on launch day and a few previews before them.
