Okay this post is going to be about the situation I put my heroine in. Heroine in. For story #1. Labeling it story #1 makes it feel like there might be more than one story in me.
So. Where shall I put her?
To review, she is a late twenties to early thirties gal who is struggling with the modern woman problem of kids versus other life. Kids versus career. Kids versus mental health. Kids versus being totally selfish and having a life.
So she has this conundrum in the background, but what is an exciting place to set her in? (<-improper grammar alert. it will be constant, so hopefully this doesn’t offend you)
Setting for Story #1
What place to put the heroine in? Or what exciting circumstances are happening?
It could be some kind of natural disaster.
It could be some kind of pandemic…too real?
She could find out suddenly she has some kind of super power. I just finished Season 1 of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and she finds herself with a crazy super power of hearing people’s “inner songs.” So basically she gets to watch musicals throughout her day. The challenge with this talent is that she has to help the people whose songs she hears.
How can I bring this inspiration into my writing?
Should she find herself with a super power?
Or should the problem be in the setting?
I think the setting has to be the midwest because that is definitely what I know. I’ve only lived in Nebraska aside from my short stint in Minnesota. I’m not necessarily a farm-gal-midwesterner, more like living in a city in the midwest. It is different. Trust me.
So my character is now living in the midwest. Maybe she has just moved to a small town. She has been living in “the big city” all her life, but due to a change in life circumstances she has to pack up her life and move to the country.
I think I want her to be a teacher, too.
Maybe she can have moved to this small town and realizes how small minded everyone is. Not everyone, maybe a lot of people.
She has brought with her all of her diverse books and some of the parents get upset.
This is a start, I suppose. I wonder what the main problem could be. It needs to be more focused. Like dealing with one specific family or issue?
I think this is a good start for today. The situation I plop my heroine in.
