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Ideas, notes, and other miscellaneous things. |
| A place where I keep random thoughts and ideas. |
| DAY FIVE OF MY WRITE CHAIN NaNoWriMo prep starts tomorrow. Oct. 01:Assignment - Plot: What If? ▼ "Every good story starts with a 'what if'. What if a young boy discovers he's a wizard? What if a girl discovers a world hidden inside her wardrobe? What if there was a cemetery where pets came back to life if they were buried there? What if dinosaurs were real again? In this exercise, imagine your story and your main character(s). Who is(are) the character(s)? Why do we care about them? What happens to them, and why is it a problem? (If it's not a problem, it's just life, not a story. *Wink*) Spend at least 15 minutes imagining all the possibilities in your story. Make a list of every possible 'what if' you can think of. Nothing is off-limits here - let your brain go." I already have my novel idea started. My What if: What if a dead body is found in a house that is for sale and there are few clues at the scene and no immediate suspects or motives? My main character is Detective Boyd Smith "Smitty". His sidekick is his partner, Daryl Onacona "White Owl". Daryl admires Smitty and Smitty sees Daryl as a son. Smitty is a veteran detective who is a workaholic. His wife of 37 years has just left him, taking his 16-year-old son with her. We care about Smitty because he is a good person. He tries to do the right thing and believes in justice. He is trying to push back his anxiety over his wife and son leaving while trying to concentrate on and solve the murder. Daryl is in love (infatuated) with the secretary but is too shy to ask her out even though it is obvious she is also infatuated with Daryl. The problem is the crime scene leaves no clues. The doors and windows are all locked from inside. There are hundreds of fingerprints because the house has been for sale. The owner didn't live there, so why was he staying in the house? It snowed heavily the last 24 hours and any outside prints are gone. He has few suspects. The victim is in the middle of a contentious divorce. His future ex has been visiting her parents for the last week and even though she has a motive, she doesn't have the opportunity. |
| DAY FOUR OF MY WRITE CHAIN This is my first draft of the prompt I brainstormed yesterday. NaNoWriMo prep starts Friday so I am going to spend the next two days of my Write Chain on NaNoWriMo. Detective Smitty had very few if any real clues in the murder. He was becoming stressed and frustrated. The crime scene had many people’s fingerprints since the realtor had been showing the house. He had a list of the people who had seen the house since its listing so Daryl, his partner, was going through the list and asking them for their fingerprints so it might eliminate them as the suspect. Smitty didn’t know if one person or more than one person was responsible for the victim’s demise. Smitty carried a small box with the items into the dimly lit room. He had been to Glenna before. She had helped with previous cases where he had little clues. The psychic was well known in the area to be the best and Smitty had to agree. Each item was in its own evidence bag. The items had already been to the lab and any trace evidence had already been collected. Glenna looked up as he entered the room. "Smitty, welcome.” “I could use your help again.” Glenna motioned to the chair opposite her at the round table. “Sit my friend.” Smitty pulled the ornate antique chair from the table and sat down. “I have a case where I don’t have any real leads on. I am hoping you can help me.” Glenna nodded as Smitty placed the evidence bags on the table. Glenna closed her eyes and slowly moved both her hands over the top of the items without touching them. She opened her eyes and looked at Smitty. “I see a construction worker. There is frustration and upset in his life.” She moved her hand to the map. “May I touch these?” Smitty nodded, “Yes.” Glenna picked up the map and carefully opened the bag. She took the map and held it in both of her hands. Closing her eyes, she sat quietly for what Smitty felt was an eternity. “I see unfinished buildings. Looks like houses. “She paused, exhaling deeply. “I can’t see where they are located.” She put the map back in its bag and reached for the glove. “Has this glove got a mate?” Smitty shook his head no. “That was the only one I found on the scene.” Glenna opened the bag and took out the glove. Again, she closed her eyes and held the glove in both of her hands. “I see this was found in the victim’s house, but I cannot see anything else. I cannot see a connection between the victim and the glove. I see, a man in uniform but I can’t make out what type of uniform it is. It could be a guard’s uniform.” She shook her back and forth. “I just can’t tell.” Glenna put the glove back in its respective bag. She then picked up the flashlight. As with the other items, she took it out of the bag and held it in both of her hands. She closed her eyes and sat quietly for a moment or two. “This belonged to the victim. I see it shining on the map so I would assume he was using it to see the map better. He is looking for something but I can’t make out what it is.” She sat for a few minutes before opening her eyes. She put the flashlight back in its bag and picked up the rope. It was about three feet long and was the type of rope you would find on a boat. It was a cotton sash cord about half an inch in diameter. Glenna took the rope from its bag and held it in both her hands, closing her eyes. “What I am seeing is blurry.“ She sat for a long while. Smitty was starting to think she wasn’t going to say anything else when she said, “Your victim has a boat. He likes to fish. You may find more clues on his boat.” She put the rope back in the bag. She picked up the bag that a small key in it. She the key tightly in one hand and closed her eyes. “He has a locker at the airport, it’s a small airport. I don’t see any large planes, just bi-planes, Cessna’s, and crop dusters. There is something in the locker he doesn’t want anyone to know what it is. That is the reason he has it at the airport. Wait, I see another man that has a key to the same locker. I can’t see his face. He’s probably five-nine in height and about 200 pounds. He is wearing blue jeans, a tee-shirt, and a baseball cap. The baseball cap has something written on it but I can’t make it out.” The last item was a small hacksaw. She closed her eyes and held it in both hands, turning it slowly. “This belongs to the victim. He uses it to cut pipes and similar items in his job.” Glenna opened her eyes,” I see nothing else associated with the saw.” Glenna put the hacksaw back in its bag. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more.” Smitty leaned forward. “You gave me more than you know. I thank you.” Smitty reached in his pocket and brought out his wallet. Glenna held out her hand, “I don’t charge you.” Smitty nodded as he pulled out a fifty and held toward her. “I know, but I am making a donation for your help. Please, take it.” She smiled and took the fifty-dollar bill. “Thank you. You are always welcome.” Smitty scooped up his evidence bags and put them back in the box. As he placed the box in the backseat of his car he felt hopeful. He needs to find the victim’s locker and see what might be in there. Also, if the victim has a boat, it will most likely be at one of the docks where he lives since he lives on the lake. Then who is the man Glenna saw accessing the locker? Maybe, there will be a record at the airport of who has registered for that locker. There may also be persons at the airport that know who this guy is. Hopefully, Daryl has more news about the fingerprints and then there is the lab’s possible finding with any trace evidence they may have found. Smitty was hopeful. |
| I spent too long today looking for a prompt to inspire me to write. This is what I have. Tomorrow I will work further on my story. PROMPT: You are a psychic. Your first client of the morning is strange. They seem off... with them they have a bag of five items they want you to get a reading off of. What visions do you get from each item? Who are they trying to contact? Here is a list of items to choose from: A. Broken bottle B. Hubcap C. Peanuts D. Dice (your choice how many) E. Jar of honey F. Long rope G. Gold paperclip H. Dead rat I. Cell phone J. Vial of blood K. Red marker L. Book of matches M. Superglue N. Belt O. Spectacles P. Key Q. Flask filled with alcohol R. Scissors S. Hair Dryer T. Wallet U. Map V. Flashlight W. Gloves X. Hacksaw Y. Gun with one bullet Z. Plush bear Who is the man or woman? Maybe they are a father or mother? Brother? Lover or spouse? A detective trying to solve a case or find someone who is missing. Is this person related somehow to the deceased? What are the five items? How is each item related to the deceased person? How did the man or woman come to have the items? What has the client got the items in? Why and How did the deceased die? Was it natural, a murder, an accident? How long has the deceased been dead? Is the deceased a woman or a man? Maybe it’s the client’s dog or cat that was killed and they are wanting to find out who killed it? When and Where did the person or pet die? What are the visions you receive from each of the items? What do the visions tell you? I have decided to use the following five items from the list: (I picked six so that I can drop one if I want to.) 1. Long rope 2. Map – Is the map hand-drawn or is it a preprinted map? What is the map of? 3.Gloves- Men’s or women’s? Are the gloves new or very worn? What color are they? 4. Flashlight – Large or small flashlight? Is it a cheap plastic flashlight, a pocket flashlight, or an expensive flashlight, maybe like one the police use? 5. Hacksaw – It is a large or small hacksaw? Is the blade new or worn? 6. Key – is it a regular modern key like everyone uses for their house or car? Is it a locker key, a safe deposit key, or maybe a suitcase key? |
| Day Two of my Write Chain can be read here: https://clkottke.wordpress.com/2021/09/27/character-arcs/ |
| DAY ONE OF MY WRITE CHAIN. This morning on my walk with Laddie I saw a wooly bear caterpillar. Its copper band was large. I would say the copper band was at least 2/3rds the caterpillar's length. The black ends were quite small. The folklore goes, "he wider the rusty brown sections (or the more brown segments there are), the milder the coming winter will be. The more black there is, the more severe the winter." Between 1948 and 1956, Dr. Curran’s average brown-segment counts ranged from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a good third of the woolly bear’s body. The corresponding winter was mild. The Old Famer's Almanac is predicting a colder and snowier winter than normal. We will see. (Old Farmer's Almanac) On our walk this morning I also saw 16 turkey buzzards perched in the dead tree by the satellite tower. I have never seen that many turkey buzzards perched in one place before in my life. There must be something dying close by that they are waiting for. My writing goals for the next 4 months: October WRITING GOALS: 1. Write a journal entry every day as one of my characters. 2. NaNoWriMo prep month exercises. November WRITING GOALS: 1. NaNoWriMo month. December WRITING GOALS: 1. Write a short story once a week. January WRITING GOALS: 1. Edit NaNoWriMo draft. 2. Write a journal entry every day as another one of my characters. Angela King |
| What if the Titanic hadn't sunk? How would that have changed things? People who died didn't. People who survived didn't have the experience that changed them. How many changes would this have left unchanged? How many changes would have happened because they didn't die on the Titanic? Angela King |
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Cliche for a red herring. Broken, engraved with a name or number, type of metal, wood, plastic. Magical or a magickal symbol (where the symbol is the clue not the key itself). 
Just let the creativity flow. The story will reveal itself. The clues will take you there... maybe even somewhere you'd rather not go. 