Tired But Still Creative

Too weary to make a lucid post about writing, other than to say a little about serendipity. (Or maybe serendipity is not the right word, but I'm too weary to care....)

A minor incident at work today prompted thoughts about how my characters might react in a similar situation. Being fictional characters, pretty much all of them are going to be more proactive than the real people involved were. Characters have to be proactive, even if they give the appearance of being whimps, they HAVE to act or you have no story.

Without going into the specifics, let's just say it was a classic moment of deciding whether to help someone who may not need or want help. Which could be the inspiration for just about any kind of story, and the idea that came of it could be used for any of my characters depending on how I handle it. With Mick and Casey, it's a great opportunity for Mick to get himself into trouble.

That choice, though, would constrain the idea. The series is narrated by Mick, so it would be from his point of view, so he would be the one who would have to end up in a pickle. (Which is pretty much the essence of the series - Mick gets into trouble, and has to solve his way out of it.)

But as details grew on this idea this afternoon, I knew it was a George idea. And I think the reason is because this is a third person narrative, and so it can be told from the point of view of the "guest character." I knew that this would be a story about that character, someone in desperate trouble, and someone who must go it alone. (Except for Simon Templar and Mary Poppins lurking around in the background.)

That can be a great way to keep series characters fresh and fun - by letting them lurk in the background as mysterious strangers. Even if they are not strangers to the audience.

I have to admit, I really like that kind of story in general. It's all Scarlet Pimpernelly, or Zorro-y. And that may be an option even for Mick and Casey. I like to write shorts and novellas for them too - so who is to say I couldn't have them enter somebody else's story? Especially since they are already prone to be underestimated by others.

So those were the thoughts I had for today. The "redo the first chapter" project is moving slowly along. I will not be done with the new material by the time I start up the dare again on Thursday, but I probably just cut the material I'm going to replace and add it to the overall dare.

I'll be posting the redone goals tomorrow.