Tuesday, August 01, 2006

The inconvenient day job

I haven't posted in about a week. Blame that entirely on my day job. Of course our patient load would increase dramatically at the same time as a number of special procedures and when my boss is gone to a conference and when I decide to write a novel.

All is not in vain, however. I'm reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson as a type of research. It takes place after my story is set (at least the historical part of the story) but it's a Scottish author writing about the Highlands and with Scots dialect. I'm also still turning things over in my mind: possibly plot details, characters, and I'm narrowing my list of names for the male lead.

Still open to suggestions on how to work the time travel, though.

No more scenes have popped into my head, but that's a good thing because I wouldn't've had the time to write them down. Hopefully tonight or soon I'll get a chance to expand what I do have and maybe add some new parts. I really want to figure out how to have my characters meet so I can post a snippet on the thread at the Writers' Forum.

No dice from the Evil Editor yet. Once my opening is up (if ever) I'll let you guys know so you can comment if you so desire.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Read Robert Burns for dialect. Right nationality, right time period. Wrote in Scots, limited-dialect, and English--so he's accessible.

As for time-travel, have you considered something along the lines of Bermuda Triangle-esque? Storm, vortex, airplane- or shipwreck. Sure, you'd have to account for the plane, and get her to Scotland, but it's doable, at least if she leaves from the South. Sure it has to seem plausible--but you can only have so much plausibility when you're writing about time travel, and your readers would recognize quickly the area and its reputation.

Just a suggestion, but if you end up considering it I could help you flush it out more.

Jenny said...

Hmmm...

The thing is, getting from the Bermuda triangle to Scotland in the early 18th century would be the hell of an ordeal and take months. She'd be more likely to end up staying in the Caribbean or maybe getting back to the American south. (Now, if I were writing a pirate story...)

So, I need her to travel while she's in Scotland. And I need it to be reproducible, so she can get back and he can follow her later on.

I wonder if there's a related phenomenon off the coast of Scotland anywhere?

Anonymous said...

make one up. again, never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

secondly, i figured if that happened, she could be picked up by a british ship on its way back from the carib. it would take weeks-months, but it would be an establishing bit. i like a good sea story.

but you're right. i have no idea *how* it would send her back.