So, I might have one. A hook, I mean. It sort of came to me while I was pondering that whole lying theme and discussing how I'm definitely not going to write any kind of Parent Trap story.
Instead, I shall write: An Anti-Parent Trap Story.
It will include divorced parents, sisters who grew up apart, and some high jinks.
I could elaborate, but I think I've said enough for now. ;-)
This is really several topics, but I want to try to tie it all into one entry. Something tells me I won't be able to do so deftly. We'll see...
1. I did a little brainstorming with
where I described a few of my ideas (mostly for characters and situations) and she asked me questions and offered ideas she had that sprung from those. I still have A LOT to consider, but one of the things she said (which is a totally new spin on my previous idea) is really taking shape in mind. I think I have a tendency in my writing to think of outrageous things, then take a step back and say, Okay, so how can I make this work? So, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm considering the angles and trying to come up with motivations that make sense.
2. I recently read an essay called "Lies We Tell Kids." It discusses how adults are involved in this almost unspoken conspiracy to mislead children, and while it isn't necessarily a bad thing that we do this, the writer wanted to examine which lies we tell and why. A statement that really hit home for me was this: If a kid asked you who won the World Series in 1982 or what the atomic weight of carbon was, you could probably just tell him. But if a kid asks you "Is there a God?" or "What's a prostitue?" you'll probably say "Ask your parents."
I have to admit, I am not a fan of lying to kids about anything. Then again, I don't have kids. Maybe if I did, I'd feel differently. But my stomach gets twisted in knots just imagining myself trying to do the whole Santa Claus thing with some hypothetical future offspring. I honestly and truly understand the appeal and the fun of it; I was a believer myself for a few years during my childhood. But even though there are obviously millions who disagree, I'm not sure that the cost outweighs the benefit. Maybe, probably, I was just a weird kid, but I hated it when I came to realize adults had been lying to me for years (about this and other things). It shook my trust.
3. So, this article and my recent story brainstorming made me think of the movie THE PARENT TRAP. I remember loving the Hayley Mills version of this movie as a kid. (I've never seen the Lindsay Lohan remake.) But I also remember being extremely bothered by the fact that the parents split up and didn't, you know, bother telling the girls they had an identical twin who lived with the other parent! The girls just went through their childhoods separate, not knowing the other existed. Why didn't either parent tell the truth or ever attempt to see their other daughter? Their break up was so bitter that they didn't want any further contact? Forever? Whatever!
Anyway. Yes, it's a Disney movie, and the original was released in 1961. Back then maybe people were even less honest with their kids than they are now about those sorts of things. But the remake was in 1998, and from the plot synopses I read today, it seems that the filmmakers still didn't address a satisying (for me) motivation for the parents' decade-long deception (although they did have one twin and her mother live in London and the other in California to make it more plausible that the girls wouldn't have found out about each other sooner).
4. Okay, so I'm not planning to write any kind of PARENT TRAP remake here. But I am spending a lot of time considering the types of lies parents/adults tell their kids, whether I can make motivation for telling some whopping lies plausible and/or sympathetic, and how I might tie it into the story. Also, I'm thinking about the impact there might be for a teen to have a parent of the opposite extreme: one whose refusal to lie goes to the point of saying way too much.
I'm stalled with my writing.
Again.
That sure didn't take long.
What I'm finding is that this new story just will not WORK. The characters and the backstory I've created are interesting (or so I think), but, it just doesn't make sense. There are too many things that don't fit. I kept hoping that the more I got into it, the more I'd be able to work out these kinks. But the thing I can't get around right now is the main character's motivation and philosophy. It's... inconsistent and irrational. You know, similar to what a real person might be like, but completely unbelievable in a fictional character. I keep trying to force her to be something else to fit the story, but obviously that won't work.
I absolutely cannot move forward knowing that my concept falls apart this easily. And after racking my brain for so many hours, days, and weeks, I can't come up with anything that can make it make sense. And when I think about trying to write this story with another character, I find that it sounds really unappealing. And then I don't want to write it after all.
I hate to be such a downer, but I am SO FRUSTRATED.
I receive an email notice today about a writer's retreat thingy to take place in the fall. Unfortunately, the material they intend to cover has to do with finding and honing your voice. Voice is not my problem. Characters are not my problem. My problem is hook. My problem is plot. I have all these characters floating around and I know I can learn their voice with relative ease. If only I could find a decent story to put them in!
Just so you know upfront: This was only a dream! This did not really happen.
This morning I dreamed I got a call from an agent. There were Phone Issues, so I couldn't quite make out everything she was saying (including her name), but I thought she was asking it if was a good time to call. I said, "Yes, this is fine! I'm free to talk now."
She said, "Oh. You want me to do this over the phone? Fine. Well, your manuscript is terrible."
I giggled, knowing she was teasing me. Because what kind of agent takes the time to call someone up to reject their manuscript, right? Then I waited during a long silence for her to take it back, and tell me the real reason for the call. When she didn't speak, I finally said, "I'm sorry. What?"
"Your manuscript is terrible," she said. "I don't know what else to tell you."
Then she hung up!
Wow. What a great confidence-booster with which to start my day. Thanks for that, subconscious!
For all the writing I've been doing about writing lately, you'd think I'd be making some progress or something. Not so. At least, not tangibly. I did write a portion of a scene in Neko's voice on Thursday at work, though. Until I was interupted with work tasks a few minutes later.
Oddly, those first words were written in present tense. I've never used present tense. I mean, sometimes I'll map out scenes that way when I'm taking notes ("Then Neko opens the door and says..."). And, of course, I've used it for all synopsis writing. But I've always used past tense while writing in a character's actual voice.
Maybe it came out that way because the last thing I read was something which
wrote in present tense? In any case, I'm going to give it a try, I think. I might change my mind quickly and switch to past tense. But maybe not!
Sidenote: Does anyone know how I can avoid the extra line break when I use the lj-user button in rich text? I try to take it out manually, but it just puts itself in again.
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