(Above from Eastgate presentation of Storyspace)
In playing around a bit in Patchwork Girl–not getting into the story yet; still intrigued by the process–I’m learning a bit more about the Storyspace format. Storyspace is the software program that assists the writer in plot sequence and appears to be invaluable in keeping some sort of roadmap as to where the story can go as it is being planned out.
Which got me to asking the question not of Where am I going? but rather, Where have I been? —Where was I?
It’s a very common phenomenon that major events are recalled up by the Where was I? question: …when Kennedy was shot? …when the Twin Towers were hit? …when Grandma Nellie told Great Aunt Agnes to go pound sand? It occurred to me that if memory changes the position of space in time, that the historical accuracy is compromised. If I were not delayed and missed that flight, I might not be alive; but if memory does not recall the delay, did the plane crash? Well of course it did. Because other people were involved and collective memory supercedes that of the individual.
Tracing back through story is often just as interesting as forging new paths ahead. Remember Marquez’s begonias in 100 Years of Solitude.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology