Eddie Whitlock's Blog: Reader and Writer - Posts Tagged "president"
Carter and Marvin
One of the writing projects I'm currently working on is a zombie apocalypse story set in 1980 and featuring Jimmy Carter and my dog Marvin as major characters.
Marvin, of course, is only 9 years old now so this would be a fictional version of Marvin. To my knowledge, he has never met Jimmy Carter or any other POTUS.
The story has stalled for two different reasons:
First, I am not happy with the other characters in the story. There's a main character who is pretty much a standard noble protagonist. There is a jerk character who serves as foil to the protagonist.
I had two good female characters who didn't work out. I painted myself into a corner with the protagonist's wife and found her far too stereotypical as the woman-in-a-zombie-story who is bound to eventually fall while running because she is wearing high heels.
I am exaggerating, of course. I just wanted a better, stronger female. I tried to get that with the other female character, but the plot killed her off too soon. It was logical, but still it undermined my desire to have a strong, non-stereotypical woman.
My second problem has been Jimmy Carter. I met him a few years ago. He's a nice fellow with a strong presence that you don't get in the media portrayals of him, I don't think. As I try to write a fictional version of him, I found it to be difficult to latch onto an angle that worked.
Be aware that I have not followed my own political opinions in developing real political figures as fictional characters. In other words, the story I wrote about George W. Bush shows him as stronger in character than I really think he is.
I wanted to make Jimmy Carter a distant, bureaucratic figure, but I kept being drawn to having him personally and humanely interact with others.
The story is so screwed up now that I may leave it out all together. We'll see.
If you want to read my story about George W. Bush, you can find it in the NOTES section of my Facebook page.
By the way, I'm working on other tales featuring William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, James Buchanon, FDR and Nixon. Maybe those will go better.
Marvin, of course, is only 9 years old now so this would be a fictional version of Marvin. To my knowledge, he has never met Jimmy Carter or any other POTUS.
The story has stalled for two different reasons:
First, I am not happy with the other characters in the story. There's a main character who is pretty much a standard noble protagonist. There is a jerk character who serves as foil to the protagonist.
I had two good female characters who didn't work out. I painted myself into a corner with the protagonist's wife and found her far too stereotypical as the woman-in-a-zombie-story who is bound to eventually fall while running because she is wearing high heels.
I am exaggerating, of course. I just wanted a better, stronger female. I tried to get that with the other female character, but the plot killed her off too soon. It was logical, but still it undermined my desire to have a strong, non-stereotypical woman.
My second problem has been Jimmy Carter. I met him a few years ago. He's a nice fellow with a strong presence that you don't get in the media portrayals of him, I don't think. As I try to write a fictional version of him, I found it to be difficult to latch onto an angle that worked.
Be aware that I have not followed my own political opinions in developing real political figures as fictional characters. In other words, the story I wrote about George W. Bush shows him as stronger in character than I really think he is.
I wanted to make Jimmy Carter a distant, bureaucratic figure, but I kept being drawn to having him personally and humanely interact with others.
The story is so screwed up now that I may leave it out all together. We'll see.
If you want to read my story about George W. Bush, you can find it in the NOTES section of my Facebook page.
By the way, I'm working on other tales featuring William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, James Buchanon, FDR and Nixon. Maybe those will go better.
Reader and Writer
I began to write because it seemed to be a realm in which one could exercise omnipotence. It's not.
My characters demand to make their own decisions and often the outcomes are wildly different from wha ...more
My characters demand to make their own decisions and often the outcomes are wildly different from wha ...more
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