Found Things

With my second book wrapped up (for now) I was going through my files looking for inspiration for NaNoWriMo. I found a page of writing exercises that I did from the perspective from several characters. It’s dated January 2007, while I was working on Trespassing. The exercise was to describe your ideal place. 

Lysandra:

Lost in the crowd at an industrial club. The way too loud music, the press of the bodies, and dance, dance, dance. Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow just absorb the sound and move with the group.

Eriksson:

He has been military for so long he doesn’t remember [his ideal place.] Even the thought of his wife feels like someone else’s life. He sees himself relaxing on the couch with her, but can’t remember if he liked it.

Esben/Edward Drake:

The dark cold of space no longer holds any appeal for Esben. The freedom of its vast openness used to choke him, knowing he was trapped inside this body [Edward Drake,] held down by gravity and unable to return to the endless void. First he accepted his circumstance, it meant survival after all. Then something happened. Change. Evolution.

It was strange going from the thoughts many down to two. But now there was a third, outside of themselves and while he understood it in part, it was what he didn’t understand, the part he likes the most. The joy of another’s unpredictability. His favorite place, strangely, had become the quiet moments alone with Lysandra where they could exchange a glance, a smile, a witty remark. Verbal sparring had become a game between them and he loved it when she won.

There’s a scene in Trespassing where Lysandra goes to a dance club that may have been inspired by this but I really don’t know if this is true for her anymore. The other two I find really interesting. These were written a year before the new book,Linchpin, was a formed idea in my head but the book does get the chance to explore both Eriksson's and Esben’s ideal place. 

March 2015. Not much longer now.