Monday, June 7, 2010

Monday's writing on the wall

Yup the words have come back, slowly but surely. As I told you all on Friday one my WiP's titled - The Collector - has been bothering me, and just the other day I wrote a little for him. I don't plan on telling the story in first person but I think he wanted me to get to know him a little better, so this is what he had to say.

Killing isn't easy. It's a form of an art, the act of passion. Some would disagree with me, then again they'd be wrong. If you have a passion for art, writing, knitting it is all the same as killing, mine is just the illegal approach. When you are handed a gift you aren't meant to throw it away. My shop is organized to the smallest little details. It needs to be I need to know if something is missing, if something is moved. It isn't easy to keep someone hostage, especially the one's who have much strength. I'm tall, average height, there is nothing special about me. I make regular trips into town, kick the ball with the local soccer team, talk to the women in the bakery, talk sports when appropriate, my life is no different then anyone else's, my job is just my passion, a lot of people can't say that, but I can. It doesn't pay the bills, then again that's what Melody is for. She works for me, and she's my wife.

Does she know you ask? She does. It's how we met. I couldn't kill her, she would have been my first but when I met her and she spoke I was smitten. Yes even killers can love, it's not beyond them.


He's quite the piece of work, and trust me when I say I've been learning several new things about him - thanks to several episodes of Criminal Minds - he's given me the dreams I both love and hate. They are both terrifying and insightful into the mind of a killer. I just hope I tell the story well. I hope you enjoyed it.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wa-ow! nice! i really got into that paragraph! i really enjoyed that little blurb and can't wait to see how you go with the cript! good luck with it, it sounds like you are really lending yourself to the character. good effort i say- i'll be keeping my eyes open for your blogs! :)

Christine Danek said...

I can't wait to read this. This sounds good and intriguing. Wow. Really, I can't wait.

Bethany Elizabeth said...

Oooh creepy! But awesome. :) It's good that you're getting to know your characters - one time, one of my characters totally wouldn't let me know who he was. So I threatened to make him gay. (*insert evil laugh here*) It worked. :)

Unknown said...

He sounds like a cool character. Reminds me of John Cusack's characters in Grosse Point Blank -- AWESOME movie!

Best of luck with your new project!!

Creepy Query Girl said...

I really really liked this! it's amazing how much more insight you get when you write in the first person- very intriguing!

Anne Gallagher said...

Oh I so want to do this my Tony character from REMBERING YOU but he just won't talk to me. How am I going to decide who Genna wants if I don't know what's in Tony's mind?

You and Sarah Jayne should get together. She loves killing people too. Or should I say her characters do. Oops.

Candyland said...

Nice start! Would love to see where this goes.

Bernadine said...

Hi

Thanks for the comment on my blog. :)
I'll be following you from today. :)
Enjoy your day.

JE said...

This is great, Jen! I've never been a huge fan of 1st person, but this drew me right in.

What a neat character you have unfolding before you. Good luck!

~JD

Karen Roderick said...

Brilliant. That caught me immediately. I'm really intrigued about his relationship with his wife, and why he does what he does, and seem so human! Fab Jen x

Tiffany Neal said...

Wow!! I loved that! Then again, I am also a dark writer who loves writing about killing and such. :)

Have you ever watched Dexter. That show is unreal and it would totally help you out with your character up there!!

Jaydee Morgan said...

I like the idea of doing this to learn more about a character - and this one definitely sounds interesting! I can understand the unsettling dreams this guy may give off. I'm excited for you - this one sounds great!!

Joanne said...

The contrast really works between normalcy and not. Love and not. Great job!

Charity Bradford said...

Wow, that has psych thriller all over it. Sounds like an amazing ride! At the end I started wondering about Melody and what kind of woman she must be. Tough or living in fear? Wow.

Aubrie said...

Wow, I could never write from the POV of a killer. This is very well done!

Moll said...

That's a great idea for getting to know a character better. I am writing a 3rd person, multiple POV novel and sometimes I have trouble getting back into a certain POV if it has been awhile. I might try your technique next time.

Unknown said...

oh VERY creepy!! And I love your idea of writing from this character's POV to help you get a better grasp on how he ticks!

Erica Mitchell said...

Creepy Cool! I actually have regular discussions with my characters and write in 1st person. 1st just comes more natural I suppose (or I just suck at third) I also interview my characters which makes me feel clinical when there answers suprise me! I should already know the answer...right? Um? Haha! Can't wait to read more and best of luck =D
Thanks for poppin over to my little spot on here *high five*

Talli Roland said...

Wow - super creepy, Jen! This is a character I want to learn more about for sure!

Crystal Cook said...

Oh my gosh, this is SO dang good! I can't even believe my Jen is writing from the mind of a serial killer! You are one talented lady :)

I'm so excited (and scared) to read this!

Really, really am :)

Meredith said...

So very creepy! What an interesting twist that he has a wife who knows everything--that makes him even creepier!

j.leigh.bailey said...

I love the first two sentences and the last sentence. All the ones in the middle were great too, but these three were particularly memorable and say a lot about the character. Very cool.

Lindsay said...

Oooh, interesting. The first line really grabbed me. :)

Oh, and in other good news I posted your contest prizes on Saturday. :)

Jessica Bell said...

Great start, Jen. I can hear YOUR voice in him though. He sounds too sweet. You get what I mean? Try and knock yourself out of him. He speaks the way you speak. Try and get him to speak totally differently. Give him a quirk, for example, a phrase that he constantly uses, just something that makes him 'HIM' and not an alter ego of you. I'm not saying you're a killer, but you know what I mean, right? ;-) xx

Laura S. said...

Oooo, very chilling! I think I'd be too much of a wimp to delve into this guy's mind, lol. Sounds fantastic; keep it up, have fun, and make sure you always have bright lighting that reaches into dark corners!

Melissa said...

Chilling and creepy in the most delicious way. Good job. I'm really impressed - I knew this one sounded good.

Criminal Minds is an excellent show, isn't it?

Tahereh said...

great start, Jen! love where you're going with this :D

let us know how it goes!!

Diane said...

Thanks for sharing your story. I would hate to have those bad dreams, but I guess it's necessary for the research and the story to get better! :O)

Carol said...

Ooohhh I loved that!! Thanks for visiting me cause it means that I have now found you :-)

C x

Kimberly Franklin said...

Creeptastic!! I love it. I hope the words keep coming, because really, they're great! :)

Shannon said...

Good thing the hubs is home at nights again so you can entertain your new leading man in all his creepy splendor.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Oooh...he sounds CREEPY. (In a good way!) LOL!

Ramona said...

hi, I couldnt help reading the comment you wrote on melissas wall about our comic (I know creeper right? hah) but the comment you wrote about having the characters drawn up, did you mean in the squishy form like the comics? If so I think that would be a fun challenge to to that. What do you think?

Theresa Milstein said...

His matter-of-factness is chilling. It must've been strange to write his character.

Anonymous said...

This is interesting, and kinda creepy.
But, I love it. I want to read more.
Thumbs up for coming up with such a character. Genius!


LOVE!

Kittie Howard said...

Wow, Jen, this is super great, super professional. Nothing amateurish here. You had me from Word One. Your creepy killer made my heart race...made me want to read more, liked the balance of a killer in love, a weird softening that worked...hope you do something with this...would be a shame for it lie on a 'shelf'.

And I gave you a shout-out on my blog today.

Samantha Bennett said...

Creepy in such a good way. The better the author knows the killer, the more terrifying it reads. Good luck!

Laura Pauling said...

Great. I love creepy stuff.!

Anonymous said...

Excellent! You're making it very real (but I hope you don't have to keep up the creepy dreams).

Ramona said...

its okay im a huge nerd too! I shall start drawing the picture after im done making these aladdin cards! :)

Ramona said...

I am excited to draw them too. hah, yes indeed we shall be blog buddies. I just read your post. Sooo creepy! I watch criminal minds sometimes (always with Melissa) its good, but creeps me out.

Jemi Fraser said...

Creepy - love it! He's going to be a great character.

Melissa said...

So I was going to talk to Ramona about the squishy Harry Potter characters for you but I see she's beat me to the punch. I'm super excited for her to do this challenge because I, myself, would love a set of squishy Harry Potter characters. I'm madly in love with Harry POtter and have been since I was nine!

I'm so overjoyed you're liking these stories so much. They are such fun to write because it's just about my best friend and I and the two things we love the most: Harry Potter and Disney World. Your enthusiastic response means a lot. I just thought you should know that.

Both Ramona and I work hard to mix our ideas and make sure the comics match the writing (vice versa too). I hope your husband and wife enjoyed them too.

We actually live in Port Moody, BC, Canada. Port Moody is a little blib, in the suburbs of Vancouver. So we're travelling a long way to go for both of our dreams come true. If you want to know more about the story I wrote a post about it here.
My post on going to HP world

I'm really excited. Only 77 days left. You're going next year? I'll be sure to tell you just how amazing it is in September!

Stina said...

Oh this is so cool. Creepy but cool! :D

Melissa said...

I sent you a friend request and email on facebook. At least I'm pretty sure its you!

Eva said...

ooh I would love to read more. That's an inciting story there.

Tamara Narayan said...

Well, today was an excellent day to join. Jumping into the mind of a serial killer. And I thought I was warped! This made me think of the BTK killer. Is there anything more frightening than a murderer who sounds like he could be your next door neighbor? Yikes.

Carolyn V. said...

Wow Jen! You did a great job, very creepy! (in a good writing way) =)

Anne Lorys said...

Great job! You've got a real gift for writing! :-)

Have a wonderful week!
Anne

Anonymous said...

Ooh, that sounds really, really intriguing. I think this is a fabulous approach: writing just to get to know your character better. :)

Susan Fields said...

This sounds verrry interesting! I can imagine it would give you some bad dreams, trying to think like a killer. Good luck with this!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

OMGoodness, that ROCKED! Thanks for sharing...I was holding my breathe as I read it...AWESOME!

T.J. Carson said...

Oh yes! I loved it! You know that would be a unique way to query. Having your MC introduce himself and explain what is involved in the tale, even if you tell it from a different perspective. It's a way to show your writing style without skipping over a formality aspect, It's TWO IN ONE! ;)

I really liked it, It sounds intriguing. esp. his wifey being his first victim/unvictim and all. And I like the way you had your character explain himself. I think I'll try that with my WIP so that maybe I can connect a little better and be inspired by my characters. Thanks for the inspiration Jen!

Oh and thanks for helping me out with my Aussi problem, lol. Yeah, I learned about language in lit. in an english class and people type out southern accents so I thought I could do the same for Australian but it's not quite working. I might just say he's australian and add subtle changes instead of drunk texting type dialogue lol.
OYE! Gudd'aye tuh' yuh. ;) haha.