Tag: The Lanchester Farm

[The Story] On Saying Farewell

To open one door, you must usually close another door. We often want to cheat the system and keep both doors open as long as possible, maybe because we can’t fully accept choosing one path, but what does that accomplish but ensure we can’t pass through either door? John and Trishna conclude their week-long vacation visiting family in Sindia before starting the College Arc of “The Story” not wanting to pass through those “farewell” doors.

Spoilers?: Minor (psychology of characters)
WANNA CONSIDER THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ACCEPTING ASPECTS OF REALITY? INCLUDING SAYING FAREWELL FOR NOW OR FOR MORE? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Friendly Familial Functions

“You can understand him better than I can![1]” If “The Story” is a broad commentary on the grime and glitter of reality, then how do we comment on factors closest to us: our families? Trishna has two distant families outside her own at the Lanchester Farm: maternal relatives in Direland and paternal relatives in Sindia. When John joins Trishna’s family to visit Trishna’s Sindian relatives, Trishna worries he’ll be excluded, until he has socializing breakfasts.

Spoilers?: Minor (characterization through socialization)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW FAMILY CAN HELP US COME TO TERMS WITH OUR FLAWS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Vertical Slice, October 2018

I’ll casually estimate that I’ve published over 80,500 words related to “The Story” as of yet, even though all content related to it could easily surpass 150,000. Everything is nebulously floating around inside my head, loosely organized, so even writing specific ideas twice each week are just subjective rough drafts. My plan is to write everything in one go after I feel confident that I can. Until then, here’s a 6,000-word vertical slice walking through “The Story.”

Spoilers?: Major (an entire brain-dump)
WANNA READ AS COMPREHENSIVE A LOOK INTO “THE STORY” AS IS POSSIBLE RIGHT NOW? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] “The Story’s Imaginarium”

Where do we store our imagination? Do we go about our days observing our reality only to occasionally dip our toes into the vastlessness of a communal pool of imagination? Are creatives and worldbuilders just siphoning that imagination into sippy cups we all can enjoy while mostly-engaged with reality? The more focus I place on “The Story,” and the more time I spend trying to create it, the more I wonder about these abstract concepts.

Spoilers?: Minor (my worldbuilding process)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW, IF YOU HAVE A DREAM, THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND WORKING ON IT THE MORE LIKELY YOU WILL BE TO ACHIEVE IT? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Shave and Bathe

Now that I’m writing bi-weekly updates to “The Story,” I dredged up an interesting realization: why not write about some of the scenes that float through my imagination? It’ll be good practice for the real thing! Throwing characters into hypothetical situations can help build context for how they’ll act in other scenes. Like a movie playing on repeat, what if these scenes are already swimming around in your imagination? Let’s start with an innocent one:

Spoilers?: Minor (rough scene walkthrough)
WANNA CONSIDER HOW THE MORE YOU WORK ON A PROJECT, THE MORE THE PROJECT GROWS SEEMINGLY BY ITSELF? THEN ISN’T IT A MATTER OF SHAVING THE EXCESS? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Painting as Teamwork

While painting this inconsequential accent wall, I thought about how Trishna (left) and John (right) might paint in “The Story.” Trishna might lock her breaks, dip her roller with extension pole into a paint tray, paint one section, move, and repeat. John might then get the finer details along the corners. Since painting takes preparation, planning – and when working with others, teamwork, collaboration, and delegation of duties – how well would they handle any possible friction?

Spoiler Warning Scale: Minor (character development)
WANNA READ AN ACCIDENTALLY DEEP PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS PROMPTED FROM A RANDOM TASK? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Buying Their Farm II

“I didn’t take the farm because I didn’t want to work 24×7.” The setting for the Lanchester Farm, a key location in “The Story,” was admittedly inspired partially by farms in popular culture. The quaint aesthetics and hard working characters must have subconsciously appealed to me more than any familiar city setting. The reality is much more involved. Let’s plow through some highlights of my agriculture study notes to see how the farm may change.

Spoiler Warning Scale: None (just worldbuilding)
WANNA READ A LITTLE ABOUT FARMING BUT MAINLY ABOUT WRITING STRATEGY? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Buying Their Farm I

The world of “The Story” can’t just anecdotally revolve around John and Trishna. Learning about related and peripheral characters can help enrich the overall narrative, especially as I start digging into details. Why do Trishna’s parents, Divit (left) and Brigit (right), own a farm? It’s hard work compared to our current digital work. Was it out of appeal? How much of it was out of necessity? Are farms even profitable in their world? Let’s explore.

Spoiler Warning Scale: None (just world-building… no fatalities) WANNA EXPLORE WHY CHARACTERS MIGHT BUY THE FARM TO LIVE IN PEACE? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Holidays at Lanchesters

“The Story,” my ambitious project that permeates everything I do, has holidays similar to modern Americana. Let’s consider their biggest winter holiday: most everyone in Trishna’s extended family meets at her parents’s place, the Lanchester farm, for a day or so of festivities and socializing. This is also John’s first holiday with the family, and perhaps first big holiday gathering, since his childhood years were spent neglected or ignored. Let’s focus on the positive festivities:

Spoiler Warning Scale: Minor (first year narrative and world building)
WANNA SEE WORLD BUILDING AND FAMILY DYNAMICS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE STORY? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!

[The Story] Don’t Hurt Her

This scene in “The Story” concluded a recent float tank session like a vague memory from a life I never lived. Shortly after John (right) arrives at Trishna’s family farm, her father Divit (center) has “the chat” he has with anyone that is considering becoming close friends with any of his daughters or sons. Let’s explore how I’m building this scene, so once I write it formally, it will have the appropriate emotion and resonance.

Spoiler Warning Scale: Minor (scene-building)
WANNA SEE HOW I’M TACKLING ONE OF THE CORNERSTONE SCENES OF THE STORY? CLICK HERE TO KEEP ON READING!