AFTERWORD for "Fancy That"

So... thank you Boys and Girls for stopping by my spot for Story Week.

These weren't actually stories. They were simply slight profiles of characters and snapshots of what is heavy on their minds right now. I plan on drawing a story out of it. This is just a part of my developing process. (Yeah, I am... strange, hunh?)

I have a word document on my computer containing story ideas. If I get an idea, I will write a title and a couple of sentences concerning where I would like it to go. "Fancy That" is an early idea that I had of a story surrounding the legend of a an old house down in what us city folks like to call "the country". The kids have made up all types of haunted house stories about it. One girl, who is from the city (in this case, Shuntae) decides to investigate the situation.

But I didn't have anything else much to go with that...

That was fine with me. It was simply an idea and I just wanted to write it down. I have a tendency to forget things. And ideas are not seeds to me. Nothing grows out of them. Ideas are like... the flour for the cake. The other stuff (milk, eggs, sugar, etc...) will show up later to complete the "cake"...

Approximately one month ago, I read Martha Southgate's Third Girl from the Left, and it filled in A LOT of missing links for me. So... I sat down one Saturday evening, and played around for a few hours and low and behold, came up with what you have been reading all week.

I passed it all out at work to my elite critique team, and it went over so well, generating much discussion, that I decided to post it up on my blog. I will do this from time to time, because I always get some really good thought provoking emails and comments, enough so that they too fill in some missing points that I'm trying to fill in in the story...

I love good discussion. I tend to have tunnel vision about things that I am trying to do, and it opens my mind and creativity up just a little more.

And this is a good way for me to prepare for writing class, which starts next Thursday. My teacher comes up with some old wild writing prompts for assignments, and I have learned that I BEST be having a few storylines/ideas laying around to get me off to a flying start! (She look at you real crazy like when you say "I couldn't really think of anything" or "I was too busy." HUMPH.)

My thoughts on the story:

One of the most bizarre points of conflict to me of this story is the blackmail of Paulette by Arthur that has been going on for forty years. That caused a BIG ruckus by my peeps who read it. No, none of us would have put up with such blackmail. I personally would've told Arthur "Hey, you do YOUR thing. Tell on me. No one's going to believe you." And that would have been the end of that.

Or I would have poisoned dude. (I'm a chemist. I think about such things, LOL.)

But it can't be that way, because... There would be no story.

Right??

Much of the storyline, which I won't put up here, has come from my fascination of watching people at church. The clothes, the talk, the look... everything is perfect. Therefore, their lives must be perfect. But what is it all covering? I mean, we all have problems. How deep do people's problems go? As you can see, your church leadership can have isshas. Just look at the Ju.anit.a By.nu.m issha in the news the past few days. This doesn't suprise me. Why?

Everyone is human. Everyone has problems.

Paulette and Arthur Reese are pillars of the community, leaders in their church, and have the appearance of the good life. All of a sudden, their granddaughter Shuntae is dropped off for the summer, and Paulette and Arthur have to adjust their home life to afford the appearance of everything being just fine.

How will that situation work out? Hmmm... Let's just say Shuntae picks up on things not being quite right and gets downright nosy about it.

Now Shuntae's mother, Portia, is not much of a factor in this story. She's off to Jamaica for the summer with her man Ross. I haven't really put much thought into what she is leaving behind... The worst thing, and what sticks out, is that she is leaving behind her daughter, which is terrible within itself. She is also leaving behind job, apartment... all of that. Is this a permanent get away or not? Hmm...

Then, as that Oldgirl Sharon mentioned in the comment section, the whole mother-daughter dynamic is another issha, and the family cycle continues. I like stories about such isshas, as I do have "mommy" isshas of my own. I think you can sit me and siblings down and pose the question: Who is more important, you kids or Mommie's men? We will easily answer Mommies men. Anything else would be, well, abnormal. But don't get me wrong, the story is NOT autobiographical, but I can draw from a few feelings here and there.

In class, my teacher has been stressing getting all up into someone's privacy, and that is where I plan to do with ol' Paulette and Arthur. That's what I plan on working on this next time around in class. I plan on slowing things down and getting all up into the character's private thoughts, etc. (I have a tendency to be more action driven in my stories for class.)

I have about 5 stories in progress, and hopefully I will be able to generate something good on this one.

Again, thanks for hanging out for Story Week. Might have another sometime this fall... There are 2 more stories for the Buttermilk Biscuit Blues Anthology coming up!

We now return to our regular Oldgirl Programming....

LOL!!!