Horsemeat in the trenches

I was about to start on the horse flesh idea I listed for a Writers' Magazine competition and thinking of where the story starts, which is not always at the beginning but where the dramatic question is postulated. For a short story of 1500 words it would need to be close to the time the soldiers were 'going over the top'. That would have the cook thinking he had at least given them a good meal and go into backstory to set up the sadness when only half came back. There were other possibilities but, as I turned them over, I realised there was a lot more in the story and to build the characters properly it would need more than 1500 words. I'd want the colonel to come and, like Forester's General, stir things up. The increased activity would get people killed and the men against him. He might even get one or two shot for cowardice. There is the cook's reaction to trench food and his decision to join the catering corps. The General would have to replace all the old lieutenants, reluctant to risk the lives of men they had been with for months, with new ones who were gung ho and wanting to make a name. There is the sergeants' reaction and so much more to explore that it would take maybe 40,000 words or more to do the thing justice. With that, the story has gone on the back burner with several other ideas. In actual fact, I'm not keen on writing about the trenches and much prefer the German South West Africa (now Namibia) and German East Africa (Tanzania) campaigns (starting in King or Kaiser and Shadows in the Veldt) with the movement that allowed characters to develop. I need to finish the 1820 story but then I am going back to put Koos, the coloured man mistaken for white by the recruiting office, back into Intelligence.

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Food for thought

I had three options for a story for Writers Magazine in which food played a major part. One was the last two men of the Arctic expedition wondering who would eat who to survive. It's a good psychological study. One man may even volunteer to be eaten. What will the other think? It could have one man talking religion to the other to avoid being eaten but intending to eat his companion, as an allegory for how evil can hide behind morality in the church and politics.
The third idea was the baking contest where the husband of A was having an affair with B and didn't know who to bribe the judge for. Fairly straight forward.
The second idea of the king's taster knowing the meal was poisoned lad me to think what point of view would be best, then to think it would make a good tale doing several points of view - the queen's feelings, where the taster's loyalties lie, the kings attitudes, if he knows about the poison and so on, to show the group dynamic in a court as an illustration of what it can be like in the top echelons of industry. That led to thought that it could be a novel with someone trying to work out who the poisoner is. One candidate for the 'detective' would be the taster, who has only the time from the meal is cooked until he tastes to find a solution. It could be the king is setting up some way to accuse the queen, or a senior courtier of disloyalty. Not so much a 'Who-dun-it' as a counter espionage story about 'who will do it and how can they be stopped'. I had a go at the genre with the sailing story 'Vital Spark' and enjoyed it and the one I'm working on now with the help of Lorraine Mace, is looking good but the idea will have to go on the back burner for now.

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A sting in the tale

I'm still twisting and turning about this tale with a twist or a sting in the tail for Writers' Magazine. I had three quarters of it written as a flight from the outback but the twist was weak and I gave it up. I'll get back to it another time. Anyway, I found another draft in my files but, while the twist was in the last line, it was more one of those throw away lines than loaded in the story plot. The story is too good to misuse so I dropped that for a better opportunity, went back to my draft files and found a tale about someone on a bowls club committee. If you're one of those people who don't like to let the team down and find yourself stuck as the secretary, treasurer, or competition organiser for a bowls, golf, football, sailing, WI, or any other kind of voluntary club, you'll relate easily to the story. A friend of mine who had been secretary of the Probus Club for thirteen years got so desperate he told everyone he was moving two hundred miles away the month before the AGM. The new secretary followed his example after three years. They both still live in the village and the new secretary is starting to look desperate. I've alreaady given too much away but I've managed to give the story a better twist.

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Twisted tale

Well, 300 words is submitted and I chose the hospital with the doctor who had been told by the patient not to tell his relatives he was dying. It's submitted, so I can't post it for a month or so. It still leaves me with ideas for the waiting room at the doctors, the lawyers, the law court, the theatrical agency, the dentist, the school interview, the Palace, and the remote airport. I have a story with a twist to write and thought I would try the remote airport. The pilot is a young woman but that will only come out at the end as the twist. I had thought of doing it from Meekatara in Australia but I'm not all that familiar with that and changed it to South Africa and Upington. There's a storm on the way and one of the passengers insists on leaving as he has an important appointment. To go round the storm they divert to Springbok and have to stay overnight. It's at that stage the man tells thee pilot he's going to be best man at a wedding and the pilot tells him not to worry, they can't start without them, she's the bride. Problem - Why does the Best Man not know her? She's English and met her intended when he was over on a sabbatical. Why are they  getting Married in South Africa? He only proposed when they were there. Why not go back to England? Her parents wanted to make a holiday of it.
I've had two tales from that list of where the waiting room was for 300 words and the story line of at least the lawyers, the theatrical agents, the school interview and the Palace have legs. Which goes to show the value of story lists written down so that they can be referred to.

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