Halloween is coming and we are busy at the house (this
begins the busy season around these parts with candy making and baking goes
into overdrive). And while I may be a little scattered right now, I'm still
trying to get a little writing done.
I am considering doing NaNoWriMo this year -- it has been quite some time
since my last one. I still have no idea where the story is going, or rather I
have no idea what the story is. I'm discovering the character through
vignettes. But at least this is the only story dancing in my head, so perhaps
there is a modicum of focus in the chaos.
"Dressing Barbie" is turning into a story about belonging and
family (the ones we're born into, the ones we fall into and the ones we create
for ourselves). And I am getting to know Trixie through little snippets of her
life.
Perhaps I need to let go of the idea of a specific structure
and let it come to me in dribs, rather than force it. It looks like I’ll be
building her world and then track her journey through life.
As a writing exercise it sounds interesting. The trick is to
make it interesting enough for others to read. I know where her story begins
and where it ends, now to fill in the gaps…
So far, I understand some of her quirks and where they came
from. But I’m thinking that I need to write it all in the order it happens and
then do flashbacks. And somewhere along the line, I’ll need to find he story
arc because I have no basic idea.
The other thing that keeps eluding me is the timeline. When does
her coming of age happen? Is she an ‘80s kid or a ‘90s kid? Would dating the
story really make a difference in her character? It would inasmuch as there is
technology in the story that places it in a specific range.
But then, it looks like she grew up in a bubble of sorts. It’s
not clear if liberates herself from that lifestyle. But there are lows and highs
in her life, that much is clear; and she experiences some ridiculous contrasts—so
part of the story will have to be how she deals with these changes.
The growing collection of sketches will feature into the
story somehow, but I still have not worked it out yet. Will they be part of the
story itself or an online companion in the form of a flipbook? These are little
details that require some consideration, and it will be an adventure to get it
going.
So as we enter the holidays—from Halloween to the Epiphany—I
have my creative mandate. Of course, I’ll keep you posted!
