Posted by: DanaShort on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 10:34 PM 
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Dana pauses a bit between Act 1 and Act 2 to take a break, and fills in some information about the story. Read it if ya want, skip it if ya don't, it shouldn't matter. "Think of it as the break between seasons on TV, only shorter and without reruns."
Meeting of Minds
Act I Afterward
by Dana Short
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What’s this? An Afterward stuck in the middle of a story? Well sort of. (I considered calling this a Centerward, but that’s a made up word, and sounded silly besides.)
I am pausing the story here for a simple reason, when I started this story last September, I had really intended it to be finished by now. At this point, Sue would have made it to Los Angeles, and met with her nemesis, then fought to a startling conclusion. (Ok, this point being defined by either story size, chapter number, or writing time, not by the story's internal timeline, along which we are just three days from inception.)
This was to have been a simple story. The premise was complicated enough, what happens when a really powerful, but ethical personality gets dumped on top of a weaker one. How would someone deal with it? To this end, I created my two protagonists, Sue and Eadgils. They were to provide the substance out of which I would craft the longest story I had planned to date, perhaps ten chapters, and somewhere around 30,000 words. If I could keep telling a consistent story for that long. I had my doubts.
The monster you have been reading however, is practically three stories. You may notice actual style changes from Act 1 to Act 2, and again from Act 2 to Act 3. For example, there are no flashbacks in Act 2. None at all. But it will take all three acts to tell the simple story I had planned on in the beginning.
The framework against which the story was to be told was that of Sue traveling home to L.A. from Atlanta, driving her GEO Metro across this great nation of ours. Plenty of material for a story there. I pictured the watchers pursuing the whole way, with bad and good immortals popping up here and there. The chapter I most looked forward to, towards the end, “Never loose your head in Las Vegas, Nevada”, would have been really fun to write. Too bad Sue will never go to 'Vegas on this trip -- it turns out it’s several hours out of her way. Perhaps I can still include that mayhem later.
I had also not planned on including any pre-existing characters, other than Joe Dawson, who would only be a voice on the phone, and the only real link to the TV series. For the sake of this story by the way, none of the movies other than the first one ever occurred. And even the end of the first one may of happened in some alternate universe. In most cases, I wish that was true for my own universe as well.
I started off with “A rainy night in Georgia”, (Yes, every chapter was going to have the state name in it, with the final chapter called, “California Dreaming” That will now be the opening chapter of Act 3, since it fits it so well.) but that was about as far as my original plans held out. Right from the start, the story started in new directions, and it was all I could do to hold on for the ride.
I think the worst part came when I had Sue sitting in an Arby’s, watching a bunch of young hoodlums at the counter. I knew she was there for more than a Roast Beef sandwich, but for the life of me couldn’t figure out why. If you noticed a change of direction there, it’s because almost nothing after that was exactly as planned. Almost. Many of the things I had intended to cover still made their way into the story, other than that Immortal in ‘Vegas. Also, many things I had never thought of before I found myself writing them ended up in there as well.
I apologize if I got too detailed at times. I have tried to cut down on the “Shopping Lists” and unnecessary logistics I tend to include in my writing, the ones I left are there because I really felt they are important to show certain things. Sometimes subtle things, but always important things which help the story build to it’s special-effects laden conclusion. Of course, if I told you why something was important, it'd likely spoil a surprise later.
Before I forget, I’d like to pause for a moment thank the virtual army of proof-readers who helped my writing seem almost literate. Some errors were knowingly left in, even over their objections, so please don't blame them. Even Word has tried to restrain my “Passive Voice” and failed, repeatedly.
At this point in the story, we have reached a juncture. There will be another one like it later on, at the end of Act II. I’ll pester you again then with meaningless babble then as well. Why? Well, I point to the story's TV heritage. It is not unusual for a series to end a season with some sort of cliffhanger. It is also not unusual for them to retool, and alter the cast. Well, since this story is based strongly on both the Highlander movie, and the later TV show by the same name.
If this were the Highlander TV show, we would now move from Seacouver to Paris, or back. But this isn’t that show. Instead, we’re going to slightly change the style, the pace, and even the direction of the story for a while.
We’re gonna hit the road.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Dana Short
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Note: TG notes only fan-fiction highlander Rated-M
Read Part 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 15a. |
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