One Image, Two Story Ideas: Person in the Snow
Jen and Tina love writing prompts. Sometimes they turn into stories, sometimes they just get our creative juices flowing. Either way, they’re a lot of fun.
Jen’s Idea
I’ve been thinking a lot about world building lately. While part of the appeal is freedom from the research involved in placing a story in a real life place, the bigger draw is the opportunity to bring unlikely characters together and build traps for them to wriggle out of.
As I studied this image, a spunky heroine came to mind. I wanted her to be in over her head, because, well, that gives her a great challenge to overcome. And I wanted it to be in a place where it gets cold and stays cold.
When I finished, I was struck by the parallels to this back cover from a few months ago. Clearly, the muse is pulling me in a dystopic mystery direction. We’ll see where it takes me!
Tina’s Idea
I have been giving a lot of thought lately to what makes someone take and take but never give back. With the holidays just behind us, a clear reminder of how wonderful gift giving is, it is particularly timely for me. I think about how much I enjoy giving just the right gift. Getting is fun too, and most people like both. But some people only take.
Who are those people?, I am wondering.? How do their minds work? I have a character I want to develop for my series who is very self-absorbed. In a small town, takers can’t thrive. Villages are about giving and about support. As I investigate selfish people and what makes them tick, I am fascinated and repulsed. Just the type of intriguing character that makes a good story.
Jen’s Back Cover
Edith is tired of life in the godforsaken north. Everyone is so darned cheerful here, and Edith is still waiting for their good spirits to rub off on her.
It’s all well and good to live in a place where it snows eleven months a year if you are the outdoorsy type. Diddoti City empties every weekend with residents heading out on alpine ski weekends, cross-country ski expeditions, ice climbing adventures, and who-knows-what other sporty activities the Diddoti Territory offers within its borders. Shops and restaurants even close Saturdays and Sundays in deference to the twin shortage of workers and customers.
But Edith gets cold at the beach and is especially klutzy on slippery surfaces. She moved to the Diddoti Territory two months ago because she needed a change. And an escape from the misunderstanding at the engineering company that employed her. She’d jumped at a new position that sounded challenging, inspiring and, let’s be honest, didn’t do a reference check.
Never mind that the research associate salary was alarm-bell-ringingly high, or that transport back to the rest of civilization was possible only when weather conditions were favorable, something that locals say might not happen until spring. Edith was prepared for a quiet life of work, crossword puzzles, and crafting while she figured out what to do next.
But it’s soon clear that the people at Edith’s company are not who they say they are. Edith doesn’t mind. Everyone has a past, especially up here in Diddoti. But when a junior member shows up at Edith’s door during a snowstorm, Edith gets enlisted to dig into the truth behind the company. The problem is, the more she learns, the less sure she is where her loyalties lie. And then the co-worker falls during an ice-climbing adventure. With exit routes blocked off by the weather, Edith is trapped with the people who wanted him dead. She can’t wait on the sidelines any longer.
Tina’s Back Cover
Tania passes the boutique windows every day as she runs errands for her nanny job. She often just stops and stares, daydreaming of all the beautiful things she can’t afford. She hates her job, the spoiled kids, and especially the way her boss treats her. She is tired of taking orders, of cleaning the messes left by the Shipton family. Tired of leggings and parkas, she wants silks and sequins, like the ones Marlie Shipton wears. Tania knows she would look better in them. Marlie is thin enough, she has the right stylist and the right trainer, but from Tania’s perspective, Marlie is missing something. She may not have the money, but Tania knows she has what Marlie is missing.
One day Tania stuffs her overnight bag and walks out for her Wednesday off and never returns. As far as the Shiptons are concerned, she has fallen off the face of the earth, and with her, a fair amount of Marlie Shipton’s clothes, shoes and jewels. Three pairs of Manolos, two Birkin bags. Even lingerie. And her emerald necklace. As the months pass, the Shiptons give up hoping to retrieve their belongings or to get their justice where Tania is concerned.
Meanwhile, across town, a new artist is making her way through the hottest spots in town. Anya is everything social media thrives on–beauty, money, talent and scandal. She is making it big and everyone wants tickets to her next big show.
Marlie Shipton knows she needs to have the first piece on her walls before her friends. Her husband Brad buys their way into the exclusive pre-viewing. With a glass of champagne in one hand and her wallet in the other, Marlie is thrilled to be introduced to the artist, but when Anya turns to her, she is wearing Marlie’s Manolos and her emeralds.
Tina’s Response
Jen is so good at these dystopic stories! I love how she creates situations where it’s never black and white, where victims aren’t exactly victims, and how that complicates their decisions. I always leave Jen’s stories thinking about where these ideas might lead. I hope she takes this tug toward dystopia and composes a novel from these intriguing pieces!
Jen’s Response
I love the intrigue of this story! The idea of the two “problematic” main characters is rich with opportunities for the reader’s sympathy to swing back and forth. I love getting to know unlikable characters and admire how skillful authors can make me understand them and feel sympathy for them. (Sometimes. Other times I’m stunned by what terrible thing the writers think of them to do next.) In this story, I don’t know who’s going to end up the hero and who’s going to be the villain. I hope one day Tina will write it so I can find out.
Photo by Yuriy Vertikov on Unsplash