Plot

2003-10-31 - 1:35 a.m.

Having one of those increasingly rare moments at work where there aren't quite so many things to do (I'd say that there's nothing to do, but everyone knows that that's the kiss of death: when you're on the lowest rung in a workplace, there's always something to do, and as soon as the Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy hear that one of us would-be free spirits aren't working, they will find something for us to do. Fie on you, Minions of Orthodoxy! Fie!)

So, in my life, I've actually been minorly social. The local Nanowrimo group had their kick-off party on the weekend, and I went. After the frustrating agony of being shy/avoidant/etc, and then sitting in a coffee shop, not talking with anyone, bemusedly reflecting on my ability to be alone in a crowd, everyone moved on to a pub where I was a little more vocal and had a good time (alcohol free, as a matter of fact. I've decided that my "pub drink" will henceforth be either 7-Up or Sprite). I'm going to try to go to as many of the social events as I can. I could probably use some writer friends that I don't work with so we can discuss plots and stuff.

Speaking of plots, I've been less reluctant to talk about my story idea than usual (normally I keep my story ideas close to the chest until I'm sure that the story will work. I'm not sure why it makes a difference, except that maybe I like to keep my ideas in a dark place, let them ferment for a while until they're ready), which is probably a good sign, because it means that I'm liking the idea, and am starting to feel around for different perspectives.

The idea that I'm running with this month is to follow an average guy after he (and his neighbourhood) witness a murder, and no one does anything. It's based loosely on a murder that happened in New York in the 60s of a woman named Catherine (Kitty) Genovese. She was stabbed three times over a 30 minute period in her own neighbourhood, and no one called the police until she was dead. It took the police less than 2 minutes to arrive on the scene when they were finally called, and it took Kitty about 30 minutes to die.

I want to explore that part of us that lets us stand by while awful things happen. It's documented that large crowds tend to react more slowly to emergencies, that most people are loathe to do something when they're a part of a larger crowd, and I want to write about how this can effect someone who considers himself to be a good person.

Writing starts in less than 24 hours, and I'm all excited and nervous, and my typing fingers are itching like crazy.

Cheers,

The Magus

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