by Julie, summering away
Continuing on our theme of castaways, I’d like to discuss one of the ways a writer thinks. Whereas most people get upset thinking about a worst case scenario, we tend to take an ordinary event or circumstance and think of ways to make it bad. Then terrible. Then the worst.
Wickeds, do you daydream of making ordinary events terrible? Have you used these daydreams in a book? Does it get in the way of enjoying things?
Edith/Maddie: Of course I do! Whenever I’m out people watching, I always make up stories about strangers, their dark pasts, their terrible relationships. I dictate a lot of texts and emails and am fascinated by the autocorrect errors. That got me thinking about the errors’ potential for mayhem, so I’m noodling a short story based on some doozies. I’m happy to accept contributions in the comments.
Jessie: Dictation errors make me curious too, Edith! I am, at the bottom of all things, a strategic thinker. I am constantly calculating how a will bump into b and create c everywhere around me. I don’t necessarily seek to make things dark or terrible, but I do spot or speculate on connections and consequences. If those trajectories turn into something novel-worthy, so much the better!
Barb: I don’t think dark and terrible things about people I observe, unless they are being loud and obnoxious, in which case probably everyone else in the room is thinking the same thing. I give them back stories and current situations, but usually light, or comic, or unexpected ones. (Maybe that’s why I write cozies.) I do, however, daydream about apocalyptic events. I often look at the immediate horizon and imagine an explosion, a meteor, or a tidal wave, stuff like that. Then I think, “what do you do first?” That’s perfectly normal. Everybody does that, right? I think it’s a response to being momentarily bored and wanting a little novelty. I’ve never written a disaster or a post-apocalyptic piece of fiction, and I don’t think I ever will. (My son takes care of that department. You can read his short story Memory Day Report here .)
( Edith: Barb, that’s an amazing piece of writing!)
Sherry: Barb, I imagine those weird things too. But I give people dark sides when I see them. Recently, we were driving down this very busy divided highway. There was a man walking on this narrow strip of grass/weeds between the road and woods. He was carrying two heavy looking bright orange buckets with lids on them. I’ve never seen anyone walking there. It’s a very odd place to walk. Of course, my thoughts immediately went to the buckets have body parts in them. To make the whole thing every weirder I saw him again about five days later. This time with two white buckets! Serial killer.
( Barb : Sherry, I am laughing about bucket man!)
Julie : Sherry, bucket man is a writing prompt. Edith, I need to start dictating thoughts as they come, if for no other reason because of the autocorrects! Barb, I remember a dinner at Malice last year where you, Sherry and I were all silent, and realized we were wondering what was going on at the next table. The stories we came up with were great. I am definitely a worst case scenario gal.
I went to a ball game that was delayed because of a thunder storm, which meant we all had to go “inside” which meant the tunnels around Fenway. I turned to my brother-in-law and said that it looked like a setup for a scene in a Bruce Willis film, and there would be a motorcycle chase any minute. He looked at me, and nodded. Within two minutes we were all moving up to the area behind the grandstands.
A couple of weeks ago I had to call ServPro to help with some water damage. (Don’t ask.) Within minutes I had them talking about terrible clean up stories. Nothing too graphic, but the conversation was informative.
Liz: I am definitely a worst case scenario girl. I can go from zero to murder in ten seconds or less. And I love to look at idyllic places and imagine just how twisted things are just behind a few doors. I think it’s kind of fun! Of course I never want these things to really happen…
Friends, are you worst case imaginers? Does it get in your way of having fun, or do you use it to relieve stress?
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