Good News

I copped on, took a breather from typing crap, and got down to business. I talked to myself, as you do, addressing the issue of plot. I came to the conclusion that writing with a haphazard plot in mind was like writing in gibberish or similar to looking at a map with half of it missing. I scrapped my idea of Survival City, though the idea is stored away perhaps for later use. The idea was too big for me, sometimes ideas run away. I came up with a smaller plan that seems more focused. 

This is a rough draft I came up with of my synopsis: 

The Ghost of Plot 184

Paul is having one of those Mondays. He turns up to work soaked to the bone and notices his desk, where he works as technical support, has been sabotaged by his workmates. When he cleans up the childish graffiti scribbled all over his work station and deletes the obscene messages that clutter his inbox he notices one of his work colleagues, Mary, drunk and off her trolley. Mary proceeds to puke into his wastepaper basket and as a result she's bundled into a taxi. Paul is nominated to take the bulk of her work. The fun continues as clients struggle to cope with basic instructions such as how to turn a computer on and connecting to a power supply. Halfway into the morning his wife rings letting him know his darling little angel, Paul Jr, has been acting the maggot at school again and given detention. He must collect him after work and must not forget the milk.

When lunch arrives the sun makes a rare appearance. Paul buys a sandwich, makes his way to the nearby park and sits on the grass soaking up the warm glorious sun. He takes off his jacket, rolls up his sleeves and undoes the top button of his shirt. Finally a moment of peace. Suddenly a foul haggard man with a sea-weedy beard and a large overcoat that resembles a fishing net disturbs the scene. He approaches Paul, sits down next to him and counts the change in his paper cup. Paul, flustered and annoyed, politely asks him to leave, says he doesn't have much time to chat, has to finish lunch so he can get back to work. The man takes no notice, rambles incoherently, begins dropping hints of his life as a property developer, until the recession arrived and he lost it all. This leaves Paul perplexed. He excuses himself and gets back to work. But the meeting with the park bum worries him. There is no recession, in fact the economy is booming, and the property developers he knows have no shortage of work. 

Paul plays out different scenarios in his mind, draws up a multitude of stories, paints backgrounds and imagines the life of this illusory character. In an attempt to answer questions and connect the dots he dons his investigatory cap and goes in search for answers. What results is an adventure that leads him down dark seedy lanes, through construction sites and into wide open spaces that are being transformed into housing projects. He scours the city, traces his steps, follows leads, and chases sightings of the man he has dubbed, 'The Ghost'. 

[end of synopsis] 

So things appear to be picking up. I have something more concrete to work with and the idea is becoming clearer. Work, yes it's work, will also start on character bios and background information over the next few days. I will continue to chip away at the daily word count.  

 

Chin up! Happy NaNoWriMoing!