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Hobbit Hole XII: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1160687/posts |
Posted on 06/17/2004 7:09:03 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Howdy howdy evellybody!!! :-) [sip]
I have a friend here! :-)
Hi Ramius, hi a certain friend ;-). We're having exciting fiction writing discourse.
Oooh, oooh, and in the splendid tradition of Sherlock Holmes, it's not Castor but his brother, who's the POV character. Pollux is an even better detective but won't leave home, so Castor does all the legwork. Hehe. Could be fun. I shall debate for ten minutes which to do. What sort of mystery would a
"Ok, so I have the advantage of my father's library, which is older than my own."
So that's your secret!--I've been wondering how you manage to read so much--LOL!
"Ooh, ooh... found some old notes I wrote down to get stories out of my head. How's this: 1. A comic SF piece, written reminiscent of Connie Willis. A college student, English major, has a dimensional traveler appear in her apartment. He has been trying to get home for several weeks, keeps ending up in the wrong world. She has to help him break into the physics department to get his hands on a piece of equipment."
Cool!--sounds like a good start! Some starter questions I'll toss out for brainstorming's sake: How does the traveler convince the college student to help him? What's the main obstacle to getting back that they have to overcome?
I've also been reading SF pretty steadily for the last twelve years, which gives me a lot of book-time. Also I'll try anything (I don't like cyberpunk) and I remember books I've read really well. Hence, pick an SF-type plot, and I'll have something that matches. I'm like imdb for SF.
"Helpful in depressing sorts of ways - makes me realize how I don't measure up."
You're getting there!--keep writing :)
"I have a friend here! :-)"
I'm going to take a wild guess that it might be SHOUTINGMAN? :)
"That could work too! Ever read Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy? It's magical detective stories."
[Scribbling down another book to read after I finish "Goblet of Fire". . .] :) Actually tossing out that idea is giving me some ideas for my own stories--I think we may be onto something there. . .
There just *has* to be a fedora in the story.
"Oooh, oooh, and in the splendid tradition of Sherlock Holmes, it's not Castor but his brother, who's the POV character. Pollux is an even better detective but won't leave home, so Castor does all the legwork. Hehe. Could be fun. I shall debate for ten minutes which to do. What sort of mystery would a"
I think your sentence cut off :) Anyway, I like it!!! This has potential! What's the mystery that needs to be solved, then? (BTW it was reading PoA that kind of got me on a mystery kick lately--I love the way she blends a mystery into a fantasy setting there.)
I don't think they wear fedoras... perhaps the fedora of invisibilty...
"It was raining cats and dogs that night. Literally. Castor came in the door and had to kick out three poodles and a Siamese that followed after him. He didn't look pleased, and I knew why. Magical rains of animals fell under his department, and he was going to have to pull a long day tomorrow to sort out this mess."
WHAT??? WHAT WAS THAT YOU'RE SAYING???
"I've also been reading SF pretty steadily for the last twelve years, which gives me a lot of book-time. Also I'll try anything (I don't like cyberpunk) and I remember books I've read really well. Hence, pick an SF-type plot, and I'll have something that matches. I'm like imdb for SF."
LOL!--yes you are :) On cyberpunk, what about Gene Wolfe? Someone gave me his "Claw of the Conciliator" series to read once but I still haven't gotten around to it.
Right, the college student is next time. Tonight I'm thinking like a magical detective. Not one who sings. Let's see...
ROFL! I think we have our Maguffin! :)
Ok, is the detective magical? Is the mystery magical? A mismatch could be interesting.
"The college student has to have some quirks. Maybe flatulence that acts like laughing gas or a hallucinogen on the traveler- thus making sneaking into the physics department difficult."
Hmmm. . .or maybe she's working in some obscure area of physics that seems completely silly on our planet but is vital to the technology of the traveler's world?
""It was raining cats and dogs that night. Literally. Castor came in the door and had to kick out three poodles and a Siamese that followed after him. He didn't look pleased, and I knew why. Magical rains of animals fell under his department, and he was going to have to pull a long day tomorrow to sort out this mess."
Perfect! A Fortean mystery!
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