Jac Buchanan's Blog - Posts Tagged "behindthescenes"

Accidental Prostitute: A Short Noir was created in layers - not my usual approach, or suitable for every book/author, but an interesting one nonetheless.

If you want to know what went into it: This is it!

The Basic Story
Most of story went in, such as the encounter in the first chapter, the workplaces and people, and those fleeting mentions of sex. It was rough, it was in past tense and first person point of view, but it was there.

Mainly though, it was a story about how the victim recovered from the event.

The Structure
First pass on a rough draft is always the big picture. This was when it changed to being about how those memories were recovered, and als changed to second person point of view with a in-book narrator, present tense, and....THE CHARACTERS BECAME GENDERLESS!

That was a really important moment, as it gave the story a depth that didn't exist, by acknowledging the gender diversity of victims and saviours (or Damsels and Knights).

Symbolism and PTSD
There was some minor symbolism to begin with, but repetition played a part in framing the flashbacks, which then forced greater attention to detail.

The ring was noticed by many to be a trigger, and by some to be representative of tarnished armour (a false hero). Heading further into the story smooth, untarnished metal comes into play - signifying the real hero.

Additionally, visual prompts and descriptions all came out. All of them. I've always wanted to do that, to see if it creates a more inclusive read for blind people. I chose this story, as it has a further meaning: we don't see what goes on behind closed doors. We don't always see the perpetrators of injustice, or our heros, or our victims.

Easter Eggs!
Without appreciation, I had borrowed a line from a poem of mine, as it was entirely fitting to the moment. Then I learnt what an Easter Egg was, wondered if this counted, and low and behold - yes!

So I put in two more - both of which also had a great deal of importance and relevance to this story. Happy hunting!

I hope you enjoyed this little jaunt behind the scenes, and how they play out in Accidental Prostitute: A Short Noir

A great deal of research went into Accidental Prostitute: A Short Noir , and not just the subject matter. As I was challenging and developing my style of writing, inspiration from other authors was warranted.

Sara Baume's Spill Simmer Falter Wither was a great example of 2nd person point of view. Although I had read others, her in-book narrator made an interesting diversion that was essential to the structure of Accidental Prostitute.

It's a difficult point of view to pull off successfully, and one that I want to revisit again, to put more focus on the 'you' and less on the 'I'.

Kicked Out is a collection of short stories, one of which is Phillip J. Reeves's My Nuclear Family: Surviving the Fallout. This was the exact style of writing I wanted to achieve. Very factual, and using such facts to build emotion rather than writing emotions and trying to force them upon a reader.

This formed the basis for the prose style, although from my own cadence and contraction-free manner was overlayed. I found it a highly useful combination for the PTSD component of the narrator's characterization.

Although there were others read in the making of Accidental Prostitute, there are by far the most influential. Both are highly recommended reads.