I just turned in my latest book this week and I’m fresh off to the next Blaze and it’s such a blast. I love beginnings, that time when a book is all fresh and new, all the characters have the potential to grow into these fabulous complex entities with hopes and dreams and oodles and oodles of sexytimes.
I have no problems dreaming up great characters that fascinate me. Sometimes it’s a line of dialog, sometimes it’s a hopeless dream. Sometime it’s a character trait from someone I know and love, and sometimes it’s the je ne sais quoi-tude that makes them fab.
Now the subplots, OY!! That’s where I always have to mull and think and ponder and think and mull some more. However, serendipitously, I am blogging here, amongst all the awesomely wonderful Blaze readers (and some authors, too), and I’m thinking HIVE-MIND CALL! I’ve always wanted to experiment with this, but the timing was always off – until now.
So, once again, I’m calling out for help. I have two $25 Amazon gift certificates as rewards to random plotters. Here’s what I know so far (all completely subject to change and editor’s approval).
Heroine is sheriff of tiny town, TX and has loved hero a long time, but he skedaddled as soon as he could, leaving her heartbroken. Hero comes back to his hometown (which he hated), to make peace with some pieces of his dysfunctional past, but at one time he had a thing for heroine, who is a fixture there (probably taking care of her own family in some way).
I’d love to have small town antics, there’s tremendous opps for quirky crime (No SERIAL KILLERS, please!). Town wants to break them up so that she’ll stay and not be tempted to leave for greener pastures (literally). I’m thinking there’s a ten year reunion, because they would both be 28 years old, and so it makes a lot of sense that it’d be going on.
Timeframe is Texas in the summer, so it’ll be hot and humid, with lots of front-porch
sitting and watermelon eating and skinny dipping, possibly all at the same time. (My mind really does zoom off in ten million directions at this phase).
I have no idea how this story will end up (I usually hone the story as I go along), so I don’t know what the final product will be, but I’d love to have some ideas to spur me upward and onward!
Any help, any idea, is appreciated. Sometimes even silly stuff causes the brain to go AHA! All right, hive-world, feel free to spurt out whatever you choose!
Entries (RSS)
The longest day in the life of Sheriff Raelinda McEnnis had started rolling at first light, with Rae being called out to the Carter place on a B&E claim. What was missing was Ed Carter’s prize rooster, Jock, a mean one-eyed old bird that was a much guard dog as it was alarm clock. According to Ed, he knew the bird was gone when he didn’t give out his normal wake-up call, which was loud, persistent and startling enough to wake the dead. Resisting the urge to tell Ed that maybe Jock had just “flown the coop”, Rae had dutifully taken the report with a properly concerned expression.
On the way back to town, she breezed through the drive-in window of the one and only fast food restaurant in Tricklebrook, TX and ordered a steak biscuit and a large coffee. Her mouth watering, she stirred sugar and cream into her coffee and took that first scalding , satisfying sip. She had taken one huge hot, greasy bite of the steak biscuit when she got another call. Eating as she drove, she pulled a u-turn and headed back out of town.
She could hear the shouting as she pulled into the driveway of Shake Johnson’s place. Shake and his brother Mo were battling it out again. Every time Mo came to visit Shake, things got ugly. Rae had been called here too many times. The sun was up and hot, and she felt the heat on the back of her neck as she walked toward the house. She was just about to knock when the front door crashed open with Mo Johnson sailing through and flattening her on the porch. Mo was not a little man, and for a moment Rae couldn’t see daylight and couldn’t draw a breath. Relief was found when Shake grabbed his brother and threw him off the porch.
Before she could say a word, Shake jumped off the porch and onto Mo, and fists flew. Rae circled the brothers, shouting for them to stop or they would both be arrested for assault. When she leaned in a little closer, Shake accidentally socked her in the jaw, but he didn’t stop punching Mo. Her head feeling as though it was sitting on one shoulder instead of her neck, Rae fired three shots in the air. Finally, the brothers went still. She gave them a stern warning. One more incident, and they would both be arrested. They would be fined and court-ordered anger management treatment would be strictly enforced. The brothers just nodded, and she knew she’d see them again.
On the way back to town, one of the tires on the SUV blew, and the vehicle slid off the road and ended on it’s side in a ditch. She radioed for assistance, climbed out of the vehicle and looked in vain for a shady spot to wait for the tow truck. Her head was throbbing from Shake Johnson’s fist, and she had gotten shaken up when the SUV hit the ditch. By now, the sun was high in the sky, and the heat was inescapable. She pulled her shirt out of her pants, opened as many buttons as was decent, and rolled up her shirt sleeves. She found a dry spot on the bank of the ditch and sat back to wait. Rae knew she looked like something drug backwards through a bush, but that was the least of her worries. She had some hard thinking to do about her personal life. Being stuck on the side of the road like this seemed a good time to kick start her brain.
The heat of the sun and the events of the day took a toll, and she couldn’t keep from curling on her side and closing her eyes. She heard a vehicle pull up, and she was just about to crawl out of the ditch when a deep voice froze her movements.
“Are you all right, Rae?”
She’d heard that voice over and over in her head for the last ten years. Imagined what would happen when they saw each other again. It had been her dream for him to see her as Sheriff McEnnis. Cool, calm, confident and capable. Now, she was crawling out of a ditch, clothes dirty, hair a mess, and one side of her face turning black and purple.
A strong hand reached down and pulled her to her feet.
“Rae?”
Oh, God. He was even more beautiful than she remembered. Silky black hair, sexy stubbled chin, deep blue eyes and a voice like sugared whisky. Lucas Gaines. The boy who left town and took her heart with him. Now he stood before her a tall, husky reminder of bittersweet kisses and youthful desires.
“Yeah, Luke. I’m okay”. But she wasn’t, and she knew nothing would ever be the same.
Nice story Virginia. I was sucked in.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
Virginia,
First of all, this is such great writing!! I don’t know if you’re a published author or not, but if not, I hope you’re submitting, because this is a lot of fun. I”m awarding you an extra $25 gift certificate, only because you did like five gazillion more work than was necessary. Please note, though, it’s not the words I’m after (thank God, no problems there), but just free form ideas that I was interested in.
Next, to everyone else, you DON’T have to write stuff. I was thinking free form brainstorming, so I’m taking Virginia’s ideas and setting the brainstorming wheels into motion:
What Virgina has set out is missing farm animals, or pet thievery, or pet pranks, or farm animal pranks, or a farm-animal killer? Pesky neighbor or coyote or somebody’s dog (or really fat cat?)
We also have rowdy brothers, which could be rowdy sisters, which could be rowdy friends, which could be rowdy high schoolers, which could be high school rivalry, which could be homecoming game and hijinx that accompany hijinx.
Also, I was reading the review of Cyrus this AM (sounds good), and the heroine’s son is not happy about Mom having a new beau so he does a lot of stuff, including stealing the shoes, which could be stealing the clothes, which could be stealing ONE shoe.
If this spurs anyone’s brain, feel free to free associate onward! No writing necessary… truly!!
Virgina, send me your email, and I’ll get you an Amazon certificate out to you.
Thank you very much for your kind words and Amazon GC! I sent my info to the email addy on your website.
Ooooo Kathleen, I like this exercise. Here goes:
How about “H” is a cop working missing persons case and it leads him back to town. Missing person may be the daughter of wealthy people, mobster, city official, witness to a crime, etc. He comes back and needs help of “h” to find her. Of course he has mixed feelings going back to small town, added to that his desire for “h.” Our “h” is not happy with “H’s”presence when she finds out he is there. Maybe when he comes into town, she doesn’t know until she sees him walking around. Maybe thinks she is going crazy because the last time they were together he said he would never come back.
Another scenario:
“H” could be back in town because a family member died and he is the executor of the will or something. While he is back a crime occurs and he hears from his FBI buddies that they lost a witness and he was worried that the big CRIME family was going after her. The wits location is the town he left he grew up in and they want him to help, though he is on leave. Maybe he was from the wrong side of the tracks, and “h” is wealthy. Her family built the town let’s say, but she doesn’t buy into their whole philosophical view of class systems and does what she wants to help the people of the town. Her money could have been the reason why he left in the first place. “H” leaves to make good so that he can prove to “h’s” family he can take care of her. When he comes back, he sees she has a kid or two (could be his or not)…something like that.
I know it’s a little convoluted, but I hope that helped to spark your noodle a bit.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
Thank you Paula. Hero is pretty well pre-defined. He’s in Book 1. He works in Austen, involved in State Government, and very much the charmer. He’s all smiles and jokes, but he has a deeper, more serious side to him that hides a lot of his hurt. He’s driven by money, believes money solves most of the problems that he grew up with, but he’s not really that financially successful (does well, but isn’t remotely rich, because deep down money isn’t that important to him after all.)
I love the idea of the will though. Wills and deaths cause so many disputes in families. I could have a town divided over a will…. Hmmm…. Much to noodle on.
I’m thinking you need to have hero and heroine reunite at county fair. Those are big in south. Also, include some beautiful, starry nights drinking sweet tea or lemonade.
Maybe even a rodeo.
Runner, a fair is a great idea. I love the idea of riding the ferris wheel and sitting there, watching the flat-lands and the stars…. Probably will avoid a rodeo, only because I don’t want to do cows and horses. I grew up in TX, and there’s this great tiny town mystique that’s the old buildings (usually a Woolworth’s) and the main street that’s gotten darker and greyer, but still has the old nobility of it. I want a main street. With a old courthouse that’s been there since the 1930′s.
Love the outline for your book… a female sheriff, great!
I like the annoying older lady that always asks for help for every little thing, or believes that things she can not find are always stolen only to be found out in the open. She could be her grandmother and pushed the two of them apart… maybe a past relationship with his grandfather has her angry at his family and she does everything she could past and present to keep them apart!
I like runner10′s idea of a fair or rodeo!
Can not wait to see what pieces everyone else posts! (*)
thank you, Colleen. I wanted her to have an occupation that was very fixed and centered there, and I do love the twist the standard stereotypes.
The older lady is making me laugh because my DH is an EMT and there is a lady who calls every year at Christmas time. She is allergic to Christmas trees, but she loves them, so she always gets a fresh tree at Christmas and sends herself to the hospital because of it. There are a lot of people who call the police, ambulance, whoever because they are very lonely and just like the companionship of it. It’s actually sort of heartbreaking when you analyze it, but it’s usually hysterical at the time.
I’m trying to decide if I want the grandparents there as well. It could be fun to have three generations of her family alive. Sort of like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I don’t think her family is going to be happy with hero, because a) he broke her heart and b) he would be taking her away from the town, so I think they would all really fight tooth and nail to keep them from getting back together again.
His family is very much wrong side of the tracks. His dad was total loser, Mom ran off when he was about four, and that’s the reason he left town as soon as he could. Went off to make his fortune, etc…
if the heroine is taking care of her family, maybe, it’s her father that is sick and terminal. For some bizarre reason, I always like it when the parents are skeptical and then they ‘come around’ because the hero does some nice things for the heroine’s parents unexpectedly and because they didn’t ask for it (unbeknowst to the heroine).
Katie,
I think we all love when the relationship is an underdog relationship. When everyone is fighting against the hero and heroine (including themselves), but all the sudden, when they realize they love each other, they have to battle popular opinion. it’s classic Romeo and Juliet (without the icky dying stuff. :)).
I def want that in there. I’ll probably paint the family needs with a light brush because I uh, write for Blaze, not Supers, so you can put serious things in there, but you have to handle it deftly.
Great stuff, and I love the idea of hero having to bring them around.
I like the idea of a county fair!
What about a watermelon seed spitting contest, too? Maybe a spontaneous competition between heroine and hero?
What about chickens? You could have someone moving the fresh laid eggs to the rafters of the coop or otherwise hiding them in visible but odd spots.
Fun exercise! I like it! Thanks!
I think I love the fair, too. Probably make it really Texas, with a BBQ cook off, etc.
Thanks for having fun with me today! I love doing these sorts of things. It makes the ideas start to flow!
I was thinking that another man in town is in love the heroine although she does not love him. He and his mother (a evil old lady) try to do everything to break them up again. I love your skinny dipping idea. Lots of possibilities for some steamy romance there.
i say the mother of the herione had an affair with hero’s father and they can tbe togherher, the town knows the secret so they have to keep them aparrt an d may have ended with alove child
congrats on the book
(W) (U)
Winners are (drum-roll please!). Runner10 (Comment #4) and Cathy W (comment #7). Ladies please email me with your email address and I’ll shoot you an Amazon gift card in the email!
Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone for playing. My mind has been buzzing with ideas!
Congrats to runner10 & Cathy W! (*)
Wow, thank you!! I’ll send you my email!
I’ve continued pondering this overnight, LOL. I love a good mind exercise, and DH is originally from Texas, so this has been fun.
A chili cook-off could be fun, too. (Why do they always do the cookoffs in the hottest months, anyway? LOL!) I’m sure the hero could taste some over-the-top too hot chili as he’s trying to impress someone. Or he could be medically trained (unbeknown to the heroine) and he ends up helping someone in need at the fair. Both Sheriff and EMT occupations have strong training and dedication aspects. so that could be a neat side twist.
Congrats to Runner10 and Cathy W. Have fun choosing which books to buy.
@Kathleen, I can’t wait to see what you came up with. This was a great exercise. Thank you.
Peace and love,
Paula R.