Continued from http://shadow81dan.wordpress.com/

Well, I know it was only a few weeks ago that I posted my latest short story, but I believe I’m gearing up for another. At the moment I don’t have a plot or setting, nor do I have most of the characters. What I do have though is enough for me to know a story is on the way.

What I have right now is a very clear and very strong emotional core of a potential female protagonist. I don’t know her name, don’t know whether she will be a girl or woman, nor do I know exactly what will happen to/for her in the story. I don’t even know what she will look like. All I have at the moment is what came to me earlier today, and that is a sense of who this fictional person is.

The best I can do to relay her personality is to ask you to view one very specific scene in the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. There is a scene very early in the movie when Sam and Frodo are resting shortly after leaving Hobbiton. Sam is smoking pipeweed when he hears elves. The two of them go into the brush and watch the passing of the elves as they head towards the sea. Sam says, “I don’t know why, but it makes me sad.” I believe this scene may only be in the extended edition, but this is the one I refer to. There is a certain atmosphere that surrounds the shot. I believe the forest plays a part, I believe the time of day plays a part, I believe the story behind the elves passing plays a part. Most importantly though, is the music that overlays it all. Listen to the music, and soak in the texture of the shot, the ambience of the forest, and the mood of Sam and Frodo as they witness the passing of this proud and noble race. It does evoke a touch of sadness, Sam has it right. But what else it evokes is a certain awareness of the sublime and ethereal beauty of nature, and of those attuned to it.

The overwhelming surrealistic atmosphere that emerges from within the viewer(in this case me) when viewing this short scene is precisely the emotional core of my new character. I sense it when I see that scene. She showers herself in it, dreams of it, and walks with its’ aura around her day and night. This is the best I can do to help you understand her. Hopefully you can at least sense just how clear her personality is and how strong of a core she has.

Will she be blonde or brunette? Will she be short or tall? Will she be young or old? Will she be single or married? Will she be an introvert or an extrovert? Will she be rich or poor? I have none of these answers.

My next vacation time will be from July 4^th through July 8^th. July 7^th will be spent in Pittsburgh for a cousin’s wedding so there will be no writing that day. Something I do believe about the story that eventually unfolds is that it will not have Legends’ brevity. I also intend to try and stay away from tragedy. I think I will try and give something to the character; perhaps send her on a journey somewhere. Maybe I’ll send her out of the country to a place like the Dominican Republic or something. I just don’t know, but over the next couple weeks I’ll figure it out and on July 4^th(daytime obviously) I’ll begin writing. For now, it’s just nice not have to ask the typical questions like, “What would this character have in the fridge?” lol.

 This was so me when I was his age. Oh it still is but that’s besides the point.

Oh, and now all you google readers that have been clogging up my footprints today have something to look at. Arrr!

I’m beginning a new short story, possibly today but probably tomorrow. It’ll be written via the old fashioned pencil ‘n paper method first(first draft), then I’ll post it here(second draft). I got the idea for it a couple weeks ago, but had a massive internal debate about whether to go through with it or not. Unfortunately, the characters have taken on a life of their own and the story pretty much wrote itself whether I had a choice or not. So now it’ll drive me crazy unless I get it down. The reason for the hesitation though is the same reason why i’m giving you all a heads up. It’s much much darker and does not have a happy ending(though I suppose neither did Joy). The only thing I look forward to is the level of subtlety it’ll take to pull it off. If I can do that, I’ll know I’ve grown as a writer since Joy last year(turned in one year ago tomorrow).

Anyways, that’s it. I’m on vacation right now, so if the weather holds up I’ve got a couple days I can spend at the park of roses and get the story going. The first sentence is always the hardest to write, but once I get going I won’t stop til it’s done. No guarentees, but hopefully I can have it up in a few weeks.