I’m still off on my story tangent. My original lightbulb moment was to tackle a classic adventure story for young readers by changing the main character to a girl. At the time the original classic was written, girls certainly did not participate in dangerous adventures. Things have changed considerably since then.
I sorted through my collection of story ideas and partial novels to see if any of them could be adapted to this new project. Why begin anew if I’ve already done some world building and character research and development? At first I rejected all. Then I took a second look at a story I’d imagined as a Steampunk tale. It was set nearly 100 years after the inspirational classic novel, and involves the protagonist in an actual historical incident. However, it had promise. The Steampunk story as imagined included some adventurous travels and exotic settings. Do does the classic story. Hmmm.
So I decided to see if I could fit the characters and setting from the Steampunk concept into my Shiny New Story. I went back and forth between using the historical setting or placing it in one of my fantasy worlds. I finally settled on the historical setting. Which of course required some additional research on top of the prep work I’d already done a few years ago. I had hoped to place the Shiny New Story in a setting very unlike that of the classic story. But as I tried to figure out how to insert my female protagonist into the boy’s adventure tale, the original premise took over. There will be a slight twist in my rendering, but I think I have the basics figured out. The back story set up, how my protagonist becomes involved in the adventure, and how I might adapt the plot of the original classic story for my novel.
Once again the fantasy element is “light.” No wizards or dragons or powerful demon antagonist seeking world domination. But my protagonist does have a magical gift that she calls an “affliction.” She is prescient. She can see future events. The problem is, she has no control over when prescience occurs, or how far into the future she will see. Often her knowledge occurs a minute or less before the foreseen incident occurs. Sometimes the prescience takes place several minutes ahead of the revealed event. The protagonist’s fingers tingle and then go numb, causing her to fumble with objects. She loses all sense of color and sees the upcoming events in gray or sepia tones. To an observer, the protagonist appears to be gazing distractedly into the distance during a daydream.
As for the antagonist, I’ve once again exchanged a man for a woman. This became necessary given the switch in protagonist and the social limitations of the historical period. The change allows relationships to parallel the classic adventure story. The antagonists in both the original and Shiny New Story simply want the same item the protagonist is seeking. The antagonist has no magical powers, but does have an extraordinary ability to manipulate others into trusting her. She freely implements this gift in her pursuit of the MacGuffin.
So my diversion has turned into full fledged novel development. The question remains, will I immediately pursue a first draft of my adaptation? Or will I complete the prep work and set aside the actual writing until NaNoWriMo? I have no idea.
But for now, the Shiny New Story still retains my interest and attention.
Mary S. Potter 