28 June 2010

Plot Practice



Let's take a woman, a librarian. She's single and has a couple of cats. But instead of pets, the cats are really information gatherers for a secret society of librarians, of which our main character is a member, who are trying to gather the most comprehensive cache of knowledge ever compiled in the history of the world. The cats can, with a humans help, collect memories from people and objects.

Our librarian is researching an old story about a lynch mob that killed an innocent woman almost 100 years ago. She figures out, through the cats, that there is an ancestor of one of the members of the lynch mob still living in the town. Unfortunately, it is an ex-boyfriend from high school. Things didn't end on pleasant terms, but the librarian still has a thing for this guy.

She gathers her courage and goes to see the guy. To her surprise he is nice and asks her out. The cats, who sneaked into his house, find out that the guy is still a member of some crazy lynch mob crowd, and they're still active! So now the librarian has a date with a hot racist. When does she figure out she is his next victim?

(Back to me) I've been reading a few books about plotting and deepening conflicts. I have a hard time delving that deeply into most of the things I write, but that's what I feel like I need to work on, so I thought I'd take a random shot at it. Basically I ask myself, “Now what could go wrong?” No the story above isn't for anything, just what came to mind.

4 comments:

Lace and Books said...

She doesn't. The smart cats find a way to do away with the racist B-turd - making it look like and accident - before anything happens.

Or other members of this super secret library figure it out and with the help of their familiars do away with the whole group. And said librarian only finds out near the end as the whole group get him - the last of the evil lynchers.

Jared and Lisa said...

Pic reminds me of an old cat of my families named Nicky. And any story centered around cats reminds me of Cats Eye. I know, it's not the same, just thought I'd share. It's currently late and I'm random, but at least I do follow your blog.

-Jo- said...

Someone has to stand up against the evil lynchers. May as well be the cats!

Stacey said...

And we could find out later that the lynch-mob is being helped along by either their helper rats or their helper dogs, creating a whole other line of conflict there. I kind of like the idea of rats, since dogs have been overdone. Ooh, or carrier pigeons!