Wow, what a week it has been!
I started by working on the characterisation of the heroes from my last post, the underlying theme's that could run through these stories and the internal, external and interpersonal conflicts that will move them forward. But then they all got put on the back burner... for now.
Why?
Because, this past weekend, I have had a massive rush of inspiration that has left me, quite literally, frothing at the mouth with excitement.
Firstly, I had an idea which just snowballed. A story where the main focus is not a person but an object. This object would pass through the hands of many people over a period of time, giving me the potential to tell several stories, all losely linked by the object in question. After about ten minutes of deliberation I decided on a coin.
Why a coin?
Well, just take all the coins out of your pocket and look at the date of the oldest one. I just did, I have 3 from 1987 that have been flying around the country for 21 years. How many hands have they passed through on their journey from the mint to me?
How many stories could those coins tell?
Many street magicians use coins in there performances, so there's one character. Coins are used to practice sleight of hand by thieves and pickpockets, another character. Poker players use the coin roll as a way to unsettle their opponents, and obviously there are numismatists and coin collectors. That's four characters without even trying!
I can go into theme's like fate, chance, destiny (no they are not all the same thing), and by having a character make decisions with the flip of a coin I can go into the very nature of free will as well. As there are two sides to a coin I can bring duality into the equation: good and evil, yin and yang, mind and matter, I could go on...
By going over a large period of time (say the 50's to the present) I can contrast the vast social, cultural, economic and political changes that have happened in the last 50-60 years.
I haven't decided yet whether to use anthropomorphism or personification as a plot device and give the coin itself an awareness or personality. For example, whenever the coin is flipped it literally makes the decision for its owner... It may be a step too far.
So yeah, I'm excited about that one.
Secondly, I have stumbled upon a little known but fascinating figure from the Old West - Dave Rudabaugh.
"Dirty Dave" was an outlaw of limited fame himself but he crossed paths with many of the Old West's most famous individuals:
- He was, at one time or another, a member of the Dodge City Gang, Bily the Kid's Gang and Ike Clanton's Cowboys - and during his time in Dodge City became friends with Jesse James.
- It is rumoured that he taught Doc Holliday how to use a pistol while Doc taught him how to play cards.
- He fought on the losing side in the Railroad Wars, the Gunfight at the OK Corral and the Battle of Iron Springs, but survived them all,
- He is also the only outlaw to have been captured by lawmen Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett, and Bat Masterson.
Many accounts of Dave Rudabaugh are of failed train robberies and getting caught by the law, leading me to believe he was a little inept as a criminal. I think that this could make a half decent comedy mini-series, Deadwood meets Maverick if you will... Not that I know anything about screenplays!
And now to the nitty gritty, procrastination being the thief of time and what not. I am now very aware that for all my jibberings and jabberings these last three weeks I am yet to actually put pen to paper.
This time next week I will definitely have written something. I think I need to do a bit more preperation and research for my main idea's, but I will have written at least a short story or poem which I will put in my next post. Oh lucky you!
But until then... Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
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