Burger King Challenge

I'm currently reading a book about how to write a novel. It's a collection of successful authors providing advice and valuable information for writing.

The chapter I just read is about place. When people read a book, they want to identify with the place. Whether is a real location (A quaint New England restaurant, a Southern Diner, A trendy upscale LA nighclub), or something invented in the imagination of the author, there has a to be a place where the characters are interacting, and where actions take place.

In describing this, the author of the chapter said that you don't want to write something so generic it could be anything or anywhere like Walmart or Burger King.

That got me to thinking. I could make Burger King into a place worthy of a story. Here is what I wrote. Feel free to share you thoughts.

Burger King Challenge

I arrived at my usual Burger King after the usual lunch rush. The parking lot is nearly empty and only one truck is picking up an order in the drive through.

The bricks and orange paint look the same as every other Burger King I've been too. This one is not only closest to my house, but it is also closest to my office.

I've been here often I know the manager, a young man named Robert. Sometimes I call him Bob, but I don't know why. He might be in his twenties, but I still think of him as a kid.

Across the restaurant from the entrance I see the two booths next to the soda machine have not been replaced. The plastic and Formica of the tables and accompanying bench seats are a melted white, yellow, and orange blob on the floor.

No one seems to remember how long those two booths have been waiting to be repaired. Robert, or maybe I should just call him Bob, says whatever happened was before he started working here. He also says he has no idea when it will get fixed. I think everybody is just happy that whatever it was, it didn't affect the soda machine or the ketchup dispenser.

I walk up to the counter to give a bored girl my order.

Why did the Salem Witch Trials Happen

When I develop characters in a story. I strive to give them a relatable motivation for their words, their actions, and even for their thoughts (if those thoughts are revealed to the reader). This means I am constantly asking why. Why do people do the things they do? Why do the behave in certain ways? Why do they say what they say? And so on. It's helpful to look at actual historical events as a means of discovering why. In the Salem Witch Trials, nineteen people were hanged for practicing witchcraft and inflicting harm on others. Five others died in jail during that same time. Making for a total of twenty four innocent people murdered by well meaning people and government officials. These people, although they were from a time we consider more barbaric than today (personally I think that is highly debatable), were still civilized. They had a system of government, a system of laws, and a judicial system (all very much like we have today). They prosecuted those they found guilty of murdering or otherwise harming innocent people. History does not tell us that these people were so barbaric or uncivilized that they were just itching for a reason to kill someone. It was the opposite of that. They had already been through bloody wars with the French, and the indigenous tribes of the area. They were experienced with harsh weather, diseases, accidents, and more that killed so many around them. These people were not looking to find someone to kill. They weren't looking for an excuse to kill anyone. And yet, that is exactly what they did. It started with the daughter and the niece of a respected pastor. They screamed and made strange noises in public. It was reported they contorted their bodies in strange positions. Their behavior disrupted church meetings, official meetings, and any household they were in. Doctors could not find any explanation for their behavior. No one could find any reason for them to behave like this when their father/uncle was such a respected member of the community. A respected doctor who could find no other explanation, determined that they must have been bewitched. He was respected enough that people believed him and that scared them. The idea that a witch using supernatural forces could be harming children like this became very unsettling. The girls named who must have bewitched them. The magistrate questioned the three women named until one of them confessed and named other witches. Arrest warrants were issued against those newly accused and they were brought in for questioning. More confessions, more accusations followed. A special court had to be convened to handle the rapid influx of people (mostly women) being arrested and charged with witchcraft. Even at the time, it seemed unbelievable, but too many people had witnessed the 'bewitched' behavior. Too many people had heard the confessions. It had to be true. Numerous people worked to do their best to make sure the trials were fair and that they were not prosecuting innocent people. They had come to believe that people had sold their souls to the devil and were committing acts of witchcraft, they still wanted to insure they were not harming wrongly accused people. We know the end result is that they were wrong. They did hand nineteen innocent people and they let five more die in jail and the lives of so many others were irreparably harmed by their actions. Families were torn apart. In some cases, businesses or farms were effectively boycotted and forced to close or shut down. Some people became unemployable because they were accused or supported someone accused. The biggest question in my mind is why. How can we as a people discard seeking the truth? How can we as a people fail to follow due process with people accused of a crime? In this case, it was a mistaken diagnosis by a respected doctor. It was fear and the believe that they were doing the right thing in accordance with their beliefs. That is the why. Can we still behave in this manner in today's society? The answer is not only a resounding yes, but it is happening. Guilty people are being accused of crimes, but they are being prosecuted without benefit of an investigation and a trial where they can be given a chance to defend themselves. There are innocent people also being accused of crimes and their lives are being destroyed (loss of jobs or business) by those accusations. They are not being given a fair investigation into their guilt or innocence. They are not being given a fair trail. They are simply accused and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the emotional anger felt against them. I can see the why. I can see it still happening today. If it becomes part of a character or group of characters. I can write about it.

I accomplished something and was reminded of it

In conversation with a bookstore employee today, he told me that he's been to lots of groups about writing and been around a lot of people who say that are determined and they are going to write their book. He also noticed that a lot of them don't actually complete their writing, and in some cases they don't even start. I never was part of a group about writing. I just started typing and a story came out. Then I did it a second time. I accomplished that. I took a leap of faith and self published, and I've seen the reviews and I am proud to say that I did write those stories and I did something that others really do enjoy. I needed that reminder. I haven't been doing a good job of writing. The reminder that I accomplished something took some pressure off my mind. I don't have to try and force it. I have already done, I can just simply do it again. Just let it happen, and let the story come out. Putting up some blog posts probably wouldn't be a bad idea either. It really is a great way to just keep my hands and mind accustomed to writing. Even if I don't say anything of any importance. As long as I am writing, I am exercising my mind for writing.

Looking for a literary agent

I've putting writing on a temporary hold so that I can get serious about finding a literary agent. Finding a literary agent and a reputable publisher would mean that I could focus my attention on writing full time, and driving rideshare part time (I'll use that to get me out of the house time to time). If anyone can share any insights to finding a literary agent, or help me connect with an agent, I would be extremely grateful, and possibly find a way to add you to a story.

Jeremy's Kiss Teaser

Finding Old Friends

Please excuse me for being absent from this blog recently. It has been a perfect storm of events keeping me away. I'll forgo the details.

I am still writing (which is part of the storm), I can't write books and blog at the same time, and I've chosen books over blog when I have had time to write.

I have stated I am working on the sequel to Jeremy's Kiss. As I progress, characters from Jeremy's Kiss are finding their way to make appearances in Natalie's Hunt. It feels like old friends are coming back to visit. Some of these characters felt special to me when I first created them in Jeremy's Kiss. Their parts were small, but they were there because I felt they added to the story. When they come back though, they are still the same character, only their place within the story has changed.

It's like reconnecting with someone you knew as a single person, only now they are married and have children. The person you knew is the same, but their life has changed and there are new things to get to know about them. Such as the same with my characters. It has been months since they were first seen (within the context of their lives), and things have happened since they first appeared.

They are alive within the pages, breathing and existing. Their lives will continue and we will see the parts they play within the new pages of the story.

Beautiful Like You

Back in 2000 to 2002, there was a short lived television series called Special Unit 2. It was about a Chicago police unit whose job was to deal with "links" - also known as mythological creatures that could harm humans (such as Medusa, Black Widows, Gargoyles, and more).

In one episode of the series, the group Joydrop appeared and played themselves, and they also played two of the songs in the show. This one happens to be my favorite.