WRITING AND PODCASTING A NOVEL 9 NOV 2020
Todays Topic
Welcome friend to Create Art Podcast where we create more than we consume. I am Timothy Kimo Brien your thankful head instigator with over 20 years in arts and education helping you tame your inner critic and provide you with commentary, interviews, discussions, and projects that will inspire you to create art. This month I will be podcasting daily and writing a novel in 30 days. I am participating in NaPodPoMo and NaNoWriMo. You will be able to listen to what I wrote for the day and read it at the same time. I like to practice what I preach when it comes to art so I am challenging myself to write and having you come along for the ride. I hope this inspires you to accomplish your goals with your art and if you would like to share what you are doing email me at timothy@createartpodcast.com
The Story So Far
9 Nov 2020 1559 daily count 16030 cumulative count
Carl stared at the two as they left the shop. He saw them get into a car but he could not make out what the father was saying to his daughter. It didn’t appear that he was yelling at the girl, but the way he mouthed his words was very stern. When they pulled out into the street Carl got back to reading his book and drinking his coffee.
After about thirty minutes, Cheryl approached Carl.
“See what I mean, kinda weird, its not me,” she said with the same worry in her voice.
“I didn’t get a great vibe off of them, he seems very dominant and naturally the girl is submissive. I am not sure if anything weird is going on there. He doesn’t seem like a druggie, but it is odd that they are coming in and essentially sitting around here mid-morning. I’ll drop in tomorrow like I said and try to spark up a conversation. They have been getting here at eight thirty right,” asked Carl?
“Almost on the dot for the past few days. I appreciate you getting involved, I know it’s not your job and this is your relaxation place,” said Cheryl.
“No worries, tell you what, when I was in college taking theater classes we did an exercise where we would sit in a café and make up stories of people who were in the café. It gave us tons of content for plays or background character studies. That might help you with your dialogue assignment,” said Carl.
“Let’s give it a try, the shop is pretty slow right now. How do you know all this theater stuff though, your degree isn’t in the arts,” said Cheryl?
“I took a ton of courses outside of my major, theater was one I loved in high school and it really got me out of my shell. Business analytics can get boring, so I needed to spice things up. Besides, theater had all the cool kids and I wanted desperately to have a reason to dress in all black and put on makeup occasionally,” said Carl. “Grab a pencil and paper and we can begin.”
Cheryl went into the back room to grab the required objects.
“Okay so lets start, what are their names,” asked Carl?
“Oh I don’t know, I mean it could be anything,” said Cheryl.
“Let’s start with the name that you wish were called when you were a kid.”
“I wanted to be an Olivia,” answered Cheryl.
“Done, the girls name is Olivia. What does she call her father,” asked Carl?
“Dad, pops, I don’t know,” answered Cheryl.
“What did you call your father,” asked Carl with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, I see what you are doing, you are making it personal. I called me dad Papa until I turned fifteen, then I called him his first name just to piss him off,” said Cheryl with a knowing look in her eye as she grasped the exercise.
“So we have Olivia and Papa, what is their relationship like?”
“Well it is a father daughter relationship.”
“But is it, you are assuming he is the father. Don’t you think that might be too easy,” asked Carl?
“Well who else would she call Papa, that is a pretty intimate name,” asked Cheryl?
“Could he be her uncle or godfather because her father died when she was younger and this man has raised her for a few years,” asked Carl?
“Wow, where do you get all of these ideas, wait, you do spend a lot of time in here writing don’t you. This isn’t relaxation for you its material for something,” Cheryl said.
“Before you ask, no I don’t write stories about you because I know a lot about you through our talks. What you and I say to each other does not make it to the printed page. But yes, I love playing this game with close friends because it helps my writing. So, let’s start from what the reader doesn’t expect. We have a girl named Olivia and her godfather that has raised her since she was three years old and she is about nine now. What would they be talking about,” asked Carl?
“He has something important to tell her, something earth shattering, but he doesn’t want to cause a scene, so he does it in public. That happens here all the time, people come in here to break up or propose or tell someone something very private, but they don’t want the person to freak because most people will hold back in public,” said Cheryl.
“Hence why I brought my brother in here yesterday, he would behave here simply fine, probably impress you with his fine manners. He broke into my apartment yesterday morning and berated me when I got home about not letting him take me to the doctors appointment, so I brought him here. He meant well, but I had to get the upper hand and rely on his sense of public behavior. Now let us focus back on the godfather and Olivia, what does he need to tell her,” asked Carl?
“That she is not her fathers daughter, that her real father is alive and in a prison in a foreign country and they don’t know where,” said Cheryl.
“That is exciting, but did that happen to you,” asked Carl?
“No, but my grandfather was a political prisoner when he was my age,” replied Cheryl.
“Do you remember the first time you found out about that and how that conversation went,” asked Carl?
“I do, just like it was yesterday,” replied Cheryl.
“Put the words in their mouth as truthfully as you can. Because we are distancing you from the characters that will help to not put to much emotion in the piece, but it will ring true because the best lie is one that sounds as detailed as the truth, “ said Carl.
“I think I can do that, give me a few minutes to knock this out, “asked Cheryl.
“Today is my day off and I just started a new book so I have time,” said Carl.
“Are you going to spend the day here? Get out of here, go on a hike or something, get some fresh air. I got it,” said Cheryl.
“Make a deal with you, I’ll go grab some fresh air and I will come back after your shift to see how you are doing, sound doable,” asked Carl?
“Get out of here but let me top off your coffee before you go, “said Cheryl.
Carl and Cheryl went up to the counter and filled his cup with fresh hot coffee. Not having anything else planned for the day, Carl decided to go down by the river park and sip his refreshed coffee and read his book. The day was warm enough to go out without a coat and after quickly checking his weather app, no rain was forecast that day. He got into his car and pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the river which was about thirty minutes away. While driving, Carl noticed how traffic was noticeably light during the day. Obviously, he concluded, it was since most people worked in the day and it was after rush hour, although rush hour was not a big thing in this town. He pulled into the parking lot in the park near the river where there was a path leading to some benches that overlooked the river. There were a few other cars in the lot, but it appeared from his car that no one was near the benches. One of the cars he recognized from earlier that day, it looked exactly like the car that the man and his child drove from the coffee shop. There was no one in the car and no one in the playground near the parking lot. He thought that maybe he wanted to see the same car because of what Cheryl had told him and got stuck in his brain. It was a common make and model, and the color was grey, so that was common as well. He brushed off the idea because he was sure he was wrong and even if he was not, so what. A man and his daughter can go to the park and have a nice outing just like he was supposed to be doing. The thing he worried about now is if hey thought he was following them. After sitting in his car for about ten minutes, he decided to go to another park nearby. It did not have a view of the river, but then it probably would not have that car in the parking lot either. He pulled out and drove another ten minutes down the road and found the other park to be empty, no cars, no people. He hadn’t wasted too much time of his day off and took his coffee and book to the picnic tables that were under a bunch of trees. He made sure he was facing his car so that he could see if someone else pulled up and began reading his book and sipping coffee. He set his alarm on the phone for twelve thirty so he would know when to get lunch. The bagel had really hit the spot and he was feeling restful.
Reaching Out
To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and lets start that conversation.
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