Planning the tense

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Day two of "alternative plotting" is going well. Day one involved a discrete diagram ... of marble if you will ... of the various objects, locations, and the like that our characters have in common. Akin to "walking the stage", I flushed out where these people might go, and the like. In particular I developed a reasonable floor plan for the house, identified exactly what is in the marble shed and any furniture therein, as well as some basic dimensions. I don't have a lot of faith in the actual proportions - but at least I have the value and identity of things in relation to one another.

I've also been thinking about the lake. It's probably just a really big pond. The scope in my head of the property doesn't allow for a lake ... but a pond ... that would work.

Lots and lots of details that still need to be flushed out ... but I am seeing Marcy and Jane clearer than I have been, I see why they *really* got together, where Emily fits in, where Dillon fits in, and even where Jane and Emily's father fit in. I can also see that, with a great deal more research, this could easily develop into a "feature-length" mini-epic. So I'm glad there is room to grow. The question is, am I up to the task of making it all believable?

Speaking of which, I've been thinking about dialogue. I've generally stayed away from dialogue for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it can easily force pages to appear. It is easy to create a stammer, a pointless discourse or an opportunity to for a character to ramble on ... and really, I was thinking it was kind of dishonest ... which is just the kind of beginner move I would expect of myself. I've never done this before. Why, oh why, am I editing the meta-game before I even get to the actual typing?!

Today I mapped out the relationships between Jane and Marcy in a way that should help develop both characters in a much more intentional fashion. In addition, the method allows for scalability, allowing me to focus on grinding out words instead of simply coming up with content on the fly. I continue to enjoy and appreciate extemporaneous fiction ... but I am simply not at the point where I feel I know these characters enough to identify where they're going at the same rate at which they're walking. In my case and with my current strengths, I need to know where they are going before they do ... so I can focus more on how to present the perspective.

I continue to want to go back and edit word choice, sentence structure, and am regularly hitting myself over my own head because of the inconsistency of tense ... most of my sentences are not consistent. In addition, I have not conveyed a clear tense at any given point. Present, past, and sometimes future, are all covered ... without transition! The lack of controlled tense selection and migration is something to address at a later time, to be sure.

The best reason, to my mind, for developing more of the meta-details before putting "pen to paper" is that I can finally answer the question that the initial phrase implied. I stated "It all began with the house." I have yet to tell you what "It" is.

Well now I know.

I do hope you enjoy learning about it.

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