100 DAYS PROJECT: #51
Snakes and Snails (Temporarily Unavailable)
From Steve’s story I pulled dialogue, but in this case, between characters who listen to each other (I did a talk-around in #49 Earth to Moon). From Mark Bernstein I attempted to follow his suggestion in creating different stories of the characters that did not enter the conversation. Mark also influenced my decision to end the story as I did, following a couple tweets today.
The map tells an obvious story of structure, though it’s also obvious that my sense of fairness and balance affects my writing in hypertext map view. I wonder if I’d be quite this military about it if I worked in outline, or tree view. The linking does not look elaborate, but I think it accomplishes what I want it to do to serve the story best.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
July 11th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
whoops, you did a #51. you know what that means, don’t you, Ms. Gibb.
July 11th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Yeah, and I killed a kid too, all in the name of art.
July 11th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Okay, post-reading: this one is stunning. The tone, momentum, topics, and characterization are all tremendous. No smoke, these boys are dead on for a YA story, and so is the daring, bravado, stupidity and compulsion. The prudish side of me wonders about the homoeroticism that enters in the side paths, but I don’t honestly know how much of this lit is available. It’s a story some kids really need access to. How much of it is vehicle, and how much is embedded in the characters? If this is the story that needs to be told, peace. If you’re looking for commercial viability, maybe change this roadblock to something more universal? (Poverty, self-esteem issues…) This would make an awesome linear narrative, with the asides becoming chapter filling.
July 12th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Thank you! The two came alive for me in the dialogue and that was written straight through to the last writing space–though I knew by then what was going to happen. The side trails for each boy was almost like the get-together after a funeral, where people try to recall just so they’ll understand what happened. Tim was what he was and I found it interesting that each boy knew about the other’s situations but never talked about it.
Wasn’t trying to do YA, (since I’m counting on you for that) but wondered as this story was going down, if it was an appropriate piece. I’m thinking now that Tim’s homosexuality would be an okay thing since kids tease each other at a much earlier age than this without completely understanding all the implications of it. I don’t know; there are likely guidelines set up somewhere.