I've traveled to South Carolina at the request of my family for a vacation of sorts. I'm seated at an elongated table, Stars of red, white and blue on the tablecloth signify the coming holiday. To my right is a rigid mousepad, used primarily for competitive gaming. Sitting on it is my Microsoft mouse, hooked delicately via USB into my netbook, next to it a small bottle of Coke, a bag of sunflower seeds and a red plastic cup filled with the discarded shells. As my family stays outside in the hot sun, appearing jovial by the pool with each other, I find myself inside with a plan to write.
I've been discussing a story for the last week or so with a former co-worker who has become a good friend, and as I developed the character which the story will follow I realized how much I was going to enjoy the writing process for this particular story. I've already written the introduction, which is somewhat fast moving and descriptive enough to paint a vivid picture for the reader, this much I am happy with. however, this being the first real mystery story I've written and planned with such ambition, I find myself a bit perplexed at fitting the pieces of the story together. A rough outline has been typed, though I hardly glance at it, as the plot is steadily evolving in my mind. I see the story in a most peculiar way.
The story is like a train. The main character is the conductor, and moves the plot from station to station picking up cars hauling new additions to the plot along the way, unraveling the mystery piece by piece with each addition to the train. Characters are aboard the cars, filling their respective purposes in the story, boarding the train at different intervals. As the train moves along, I'm having trouble finding the points in the story that connect the cars together. A car must be linked to another for the train to move successfully along the tracks. I fear this story may be too complex for my brain to handle, effectively derailing the story and passengers aboard this train of sorts. Will I be able to deliver the train to its intended destination, or is this simply a doomtrain, destined to crash and burn?
This analogy, as well as the story arcs and characters, have been swirling in my head the last several days. I've set this time aside for myself to concentrate on this story as a relaxation tool to clear my head, yet the complexities of this massive beast, spitting black smoke into the sky as it increases speed along the tracks, seems to slow the process of actually writing the story down and cloud my mind. No matter, I've already determined that I will finish this story, just how I will approach it seems to be an altogether different affair.
