Stories To Be

Sara said:
Well, I "remembered" it in that I was checking through your blog archives for old story ideas you'd posted but never fleshed out.

I think this could work. The main issues would be fleshing out the characters and figuring out what's going to bring the sotry together.

So what we have is essentially a story about family relationships and labeling/stereotpying. I'm getting that you want to show that seeming;y positive labeling like this can have negative feects. But if this is going to feel real, you may want to try to show the effects as not entirely negative either. I'd figure sometimes these three characters are actually pretty content with their seemingly predetermined role in life. Doing this might help the story feel less like a moral lesson and have more life to it.

This is probably a good time to start figuring out the characters a little more. In what ways do they fit the labels laid out for them and in what ways do they not? What do they like about how they're percieved by others and what sides of them do they wish others saw more? How willing are they to accept the perks of who they are? For example, how is Brawn going to react to discovering that his teachers give him Cs he hasn't earned? The obvious response is to have him just say "this is wrong" and try to correct it. But what kind of guy is Brawn really? Would he make a big public stink about the fact that he's getting an academic free ride? Or is his athletic career really more imprtant to him? Maybe he does feel bad about it, but he's got friends on the team or even a girlfriend who he believes would turn their backs on him if he did something to jeopardize the team b taking himself out of it. Maybe he tries really hard to earn good grades, but the effort leaves him little time for sports. Does he give up on sports or academics? And do all of his teachers let him slide by? If so, why? Is it an order handed down from the principal? Maybe there's one teacher who just won't go along with it and actually tries to challenge Brawn mentally. Does he resent this teacher or respect him/her? If he respects the one teacher willing to grade him honestly, maybe he starts to put real effort into that subject and sees a potential career path that doesn't involve sports.

Also think about the characters of the parents. Like the labeling aspect they represent, we should probably see good and bad in them. Maybe they don't give Brawn's grades the consideration they deserve, but they porbably went to all of his games. They may not recognize that Brains is struggling socially, but they do take pride in her academic achievements. Is this labeling something they do constantly or is it just an occasional thing that's reinforced by the way the rest of the world sees these kids? Why are they like this? How do they see what they're doing when they use these labels on their kids?

I get the impression that you want something to happen that either solidifies or tests their relationship. I'm not sure I like the initial "running a company together" idea; it feels a little too "Real World". ("What happens when three siblings with three totally different personalities have to band together and run a business?) I also think it should be something a little more sudden, though if you put anyone in the hospital with an incurable disease, I will fly out to Michigan to yyell at you as that is the most cliched thing ever. How are they getting along when the event happens? Maybe they're as far apart as they've ever been and this forces them back together. Or maybe they're jus starting to recconnect when this thing happens and threatens what they've done to mend their relationships. Or maybe they're actually closer than they've ever been when this event comes along and starts digging up bad old feelings. Or maybe two of them are doing OK and one isn't speaking to either of them. Or something like that.

As always, take it or leave it.