Oh yes it is a new month and in June we have a new focus for our Wednesday Write ins. I am kind of stoked about this one. This month we are going to look at regional differences. And I mean that in a broader way Let me explain. Each Wednesday in June we are going to take the same scenario and just change the locations. This is more about how location plays a roll in our story.
The first thing we need is a story, or at least a scene.
I’ll give you the bare bones to get started and truthfully if you don’t like the bones, you can chuck them out and insert your own. The important bit is to have a general story in your head and then each week, take the same story to a different local and see how things change when you tweek it to fit the location. So our bones…
Kevin sees some sort of calamity getting ready to face the place he calls home. Others either do not see it coming or think the impact will not be as dire as he believes. He has a piece of information that he believes shows he is right. No one believes him because they don’t want to believe him. So he decides to set some things in place to help everyone out.
Suitably vague? I hope so.
So spend a little time with Kevin. Or if you would like make Kevin a Kelly and spend a little time with her. Or make it Michael, Rhoda or Beullah if you’d like. But take a minute to add a little flesh on the bones from above. What is the calamity? Is it economic or physical? Is it a local plant employing half the town closing down or is it a flood? And then figure out what your protagonist is going to do about the people who won’t believe, what will they do to help save their home?
Now write that scene as just a general scene. Doesn’t have to be long, or pretty.
Have we all got that?
Good. Now we are going to adjust.
Today’s Region: A Seaside Town
Take a look back at the scene you just wrote and adjust it to fit a sea side town. Does the calamity change completely or do you just need slight adjustments? Add in grounding details, like the scent of the sea or the boats in the small harbor, the sun glinting off the water or storms coming off the see. Add in the cries of gulls or the scent of seaside restaurants. Make us believe that this scene is taking place in a seaside town. Is this a touristy area or a small town where strangers are rare? Make us feel the location and really think about how this community, however you want to write the community reacts to the situation differently than would another community.
Now re write the scene set in a sea side town. As always, happy writing.
Ten til Midnight 