Vril - Chapter One Preview

Chapter One

Has every detective had a few odd cases?  Of course, it is the nature of the job.  Odd is a relative term in this business too.  Every gumshoe has a limit.  Every P.I. goes in with an idea of what sort of case he will take, and which ones are just a few paces enough past sane to make him shake his head, tip his hat and turn his back. 

Sure, some of us started as beat cops with field experience built up to feel as though we have seen it all.  That can make a man either harder than a pair of concrete shoes or so tenderized that near anything makes him drink it away every night.

The kids, just out of training, the bookish ones who degreed their way into the business, they amuse the most though, they are a flip of the coin.  Maybe it is all the clinicism that creates their instant cynicism and detachment.  Sad to think it though, that such young hearts could go so cold as to not see the very human side of the stories they work on. 

I have a little of both worlds.  Failed my first try through forensic studies, and could not afford the pay back on all that school without a job.  I never wanted to be a cop, an enforcer.  Too much like work to this nimble mind.  I wanted to solve not serve.  But, I did my time, ran through the physical training like a champ too, if I may say so, enjoyed the challenge really.  I was younger then.  Where my mind was too young to stay on task, my body was focused on being honed to perfection.  Picking up dames was formidable motivation for my youthful focus.  I do not think I could do it today. 

Limits, that’s what I was speaking on.  We all had them back then; we all have them now.  I did not think mine changed much.  The schooling the first time had given me enough technical savvy to see life as a case study, not much more.  Working the streets brought back my humanity, but not my faith in it.  Age and wisdom, and another few years at the books, gave me the rest.  There was nothing I had not seen on the street or read in an article.  Well, not yet anyway.

Rio Vista and Foothills Week Three: Scenes

Set the Stage

This is the part of writing I liken most to working on stage or interior design. It is also the place where a writer can really get a God complex. It is time to build the world characters play in.

In terms of the interior design aspect, I like to think of my scenes as the studio set the actors need to interact with. I fully admit, my scenes are much better since script writing a few times. Making a list of required props and realizing how much space actors have to move helps add plausibility to a story.

What would you tell a set designer if he were to build your props? Be specific. It is not so much that all of this needs to be written into your descriptions but your final product will be much better received if you have considered all the props your actor/ character could interact with.

Lighting and sound is important too. To set the mood in movies or stage the light and sound technicians adjust volume, add effects, brighten or dim the lights, and sometimes change the filter color to be even more dramatic. Think of your Scene Outline as directions for the technicians at your disposal.

Be as wild as you want to be! Movies, television and stage are still more limited than the written word. A scene written on paper is limitless in financial budget, it is only a deficit of imagination that can slow production. While makeup, CGI programs, set construction, costumes, and fire codes create hurdles for the visual arts, writers put the imagination machine into motion and the possibilities are boundless.

Exercise for class or group:

Use Scene Outline worksheets to pick apart descriptions.  Do this to your own work or trade with others. 

Exercise for Lone Writers: 

Use worksheets to build a scene for your story or recall important moments in your life.  Decide if it is easier to use the sheet to create a scene or as follow up to writing one out.

*Worksheets can be helpful, but over analyzing, can cause hang-ups in creativity.  It’s all about balance.*