From: A_Tina_Hall@kruemel.org   
      
   On 23.12.18, Brian P.   wrote:   
      
   > More thinking out loud about Chapter 3.   
      
   > I've rethought the "what needs to happen" plan for Chapter 3 to be   
   > more strategic.  E. will still "meet some friends," but before she   
   > can connect emotionally, she needs to let her guard down as   
   > completely as possible.  I'm going to tell her that this is a short   
   > vacation, perhaps just a weekend, from her regular life and she can   
   > just lay back and enjoy the luxury.   
      
   It's always fascinating to see the concept of talking to one's   
   characters. :)   
      
   [...]   
   > (No chance of anything going wrong with that plan, no, sir!  This is   
   > all going to go like clockwork...)   
      
   LOL, of course!   
      
   > So now, instead of the flat farmlands and boring houses that first   
   > popped into my head, I'm putting together an idealized vacation spot   
   > for her to drop in to.   
      
   Reminds me of the one trip one of my characters is having, but he's   
   already landed near the farms. Plus there's a reason, and it might not   
   be that boring. :)   
      
   > It starts as the sort of paradise that's implied in travel brochures   
   > and cruise ship packages:  warm weather, luxurious lodgings with   
   > plentiful servants,  beautiful scenery. Shopping and other idle-time   
   > activities like massages are there too, although as a Midwestern girl   
   > E. isn't too comfortable with throwing money around.   
      
   My mind can't help comparing that to the characters I want to continue   
   the story of, and it stands out how very human yours is. :) (Or how much   
   mine are not, they'd not know what to do with any of that.)   
      
   Not to get too distracted, it sounds like a good idea. Certainly draws   
   an image in my mind. :)   
      
   > Further in, she'll meet the fascinating local culture and history as   
   > well as the good companions you'd like on a perfect vacation.  But   
   > those things can't just be made up on the spot; they have to actually   
   > BE interesting.  They're the actual background and characters of the   
   > story.   
      
   Hm, depends on how you write. I'm best with making up on the spot, which   
   is why I'm so stuck right now. :)   
      
   Planning in advance, how do you do that, do you make notes? Draw charts?   
   Just imagine it in your head? Something else?   
      
   > -+-   
   > One thing about this paradise that's going to keep bugging me,   
   > though:  it's always driven me crazy the way that characters in   
   > action movies can get dumped in a foreign country with no   
   > preparation, and somehow never lack for a place to stay and money to   
   > live on.  Now I'm going to be guilty of the same thing.   
      
   Can't she have won the trip, or some mysterious source gifted it to her?   
      
   Is there someone who wants her to go there, and thus arranged for it in   
   the most inconspicious way you can think of?   
      
   (Apart from you, I mean. :) )   
      
   --   
   "Did you make a mistake when you cut off your end of the tie and   
   somehow swapped identities with Thalos?"   
   Arentus grinned. "Maybe you and I did."   
                   -- Senar and Arentus, Magic Earth IV: Seeing Far   
      
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)