It might be a nice idea to introduce the setting that the story takes place in. Hmm. How about a bar? In a tropical location, somewhere near the equator. I speak English but at this particular place they speak another language. Nah, on second thoughts, I don't feel like learning another language before continuing. We'll stick to English for now.
This bar is very open – it's more of a hut, allowing the fresh sea breeze to flow through on humid days like this. Did I mention we were at a coastal town? I have now. Add in some seagull sounds, a busy market nearby, action aplenty along the dusty dirt road which winds its way past the Jungle Hut. That's the name of the place. Let's go inside.
A few rickety tables, temporarily placed between the real furniture – the locals. Mostly old, reddish skin, with deep, deep wrinkles. The kind of wrinkles you could channel water down.
Now that the basic setting is established, we need to hone in on a main character. Someone out of place. A fish out of water. A guy in a business suit? A woman in pearls? All a bit clichéd. How about a brilliantly coloured dodo? You know, one of those birds that were hunted to extinction? This is a story – we can do anything!
So this dodo is perched on a wooden rafter, above the humans, looking down at their heads, their strange ways. The dodo should have a name so I don't have to keep referring to it as “the dodo”. How about Bob? I like Bob. Especially how Rowan Atkinson says it. Bob. It's funny, I laugh, we move on.
So Bob perches above the bar. I've already mentioned perching but I needed a way to bring you back into the story after my little naming aside. This is another aside. How will I get back to the story now? Repeat the same thing a third time or try something different? Read on to find out!
Bob ruffled his feathers a little. He started to lean down gently. Bob just realised that dodo's can't (couldn't?) fly. Uh oh! How did he get up there? Maybe someone put him there. Maybe it was punishment. Maybe the first part of this story is all about how Bob and the locals get on, what sort of relationship they have. Do they even know he exists? Maybe he's a magical dodo. That would certainly explain how he could come to be, after an extinction. Unless it was some kind of Jurassic Park rip-off. Err, I mean homage.
Nope, no magic here. I'm all Pottered out. So is Bob. He can't move. So he twists his head, in a cute Princess Diana kind of way. Hopefully things won't end up the same way.
A fly flies past. A pig, too. Bob says hello to the pig. Not with real words – dodo's can't speak. He just...says it. And the pig replies, like an ambulance racing by, with a droning Bye.
OK, this is getting boring. I'm resorting to pigs flying to save the story. Not a good start.
I'll try something different. A new setting. It's really hot right now so all my thoughts are of warm places: beaches, dusty tracks, people crowded under large trees in parks.
Perhaps I should explain what I'm doing. I'm telling a story, obviously. But not any story. It's got to be great! It's got to have multiple levels of interpretation, subtle and believable character traits, culminating in a strong character journey that everyone can relate to. I'd also like some comedy elements in there. Ooh, some science fiction. But not “horror that happens to be set in space” science fiction. Something that makes you think. Something that sets up a scenario whereby one major aspect of society has changed and we are now seeing the ramifications of that change. A warning, perhaps. Oh yeah, and it has to have a love story. That has to be at the heart of it. Those stories always seem to resonate the best, especially lost love, unrequited love, that kind of thing.
So what am I doing? I'm telling the story.
It will need a good tempo, something to keep the story moving. I know, an overriding mystery. Something the characters have to solve. But through this journey they uncover more about themselves. OK, that sounded boring and trite. I'm trying not to be trite. But I do like the word trite. It's a good word, trite. Amiright?
Now I'm stuck. Too many self-imposed requirements. Too much pressure. Why not just write a nice story? A good story? As long as some people can see themselves in one of the characters, it will be a good story. Whether it's pirates fighting off the coast of Neptune, or two people sitting in a room talking all night.
Oh, I give up. The Daily Show's on. I like Jon Stewart.
© 2011 Ben Safta
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Australia License
