A million-I-don't-know years ago, Wolfenshire posted a list of story "starters" in the Writers Forum. I decided to try one out. Exercise my writing muscles a little. I am not a plot person. In my every day life I don't speculate much. I don't wonder what people are up to, mostly because I don't care one way or another. After much thought and discussion, I believe that trait is also what keeps me from being a novelist. If you give me a plot I can write the scenes, but "what happens next?" questions sort of bore me. On the other hand, I love to read! Before I got involved on Renderosity and started to spend all my time taking pictures and fiddling around on line, I read every night, and would go through four or five books a week. If there's another "on the other hand" though, I dislike movies and television. I like the richness of the plot of a book. So there you go! No movies, yes books, but either way, plots don't come to me. This is the "starter" I chose. I've gone back to it many times, and even talked to Wolf about it, because he spouts full-on plots in his sleep, but this is as far as I got. I told Mark (anahata.c) about it, and he said, "Post it anyway! Let people see your unfinished work!" I think that's a terrific idea, because if I post it, I won't work on it any more, and I can let go of the idea that I'll ever do something with it. LOL! This is what Wolf gave us: Surely such things happen only in the movies. But here I was, lost in a foreign country, rain pouring down, lightening criss-crossing the sky ominously illuminating the flickering trees, and the only haven in sight - an ancient and foreboding castle. ......................... Here's my version: ......................... Surely such things happen only in movies, but here I was, lost in a foreign country in the pouring-down rain. Lightning crisscrossed the sky giving the trees an ominous, flickering quality that I would have appreciated as an artistic expression in another time and place, but wasn't crazy about at the moment. I trudged along the increasingly muddy road, cold rain running under my shirt collar and plastering the fabric to my skin. It was easier to keep my head down, only looking up from time to time to see if anything had changed. Between the lightning and the full moon, at least I could see where I was going. I made it a game after a while, counting one hundred steps and then looking up the road. Another hundred steps and another look. I don't know how far I went, but as I rounded a corner counting to myself, "Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred," I looked up and saw what must be the only haven for miles around --- an ancient and foreboding castle. "Oh, for pity sake," I said aloud. I sighed, and looked around carefully in the flickering light just to make sure there wasn't a warmly lit cottage somewhere nearby. It would be a shame to miss the possibility of a crackling fire and a hot meal just because I didn't have the sense to check my surroundings. No such luck. I'm not much of a movie buff, but even I knew the perils of approaching a lightning-lit castle at the top of a hill in the dark and the rain. Dawn was probably eight or ten hours away though, and it was cold and getting colder, so I thought I'd take my chances. Maybe there would be an outbuilding in which I could take refuge until the rain stopped. The castle couldn't be more than half a mile away, and the idea of being warm and dry spurred me on. Unfortunately that half mile was all uphill, but as I panted my way to the top I comforted myself with the fact that no bats were flying across the moon, no wolves were howling, and there was no creepy music coming mysteriously from an unknown source. Eventually the mud and gravel surface of the road gave way to cracked macadam, for which I was grateful. It made the last bit of my climb easier, and lessened my feeling of foreboding. Anyone who paved their driveway probably didn't sleep in a coffin or play the french horn from the rooftops at night. I approached the castle from the front, ignoring the huge double doors in favor of a few minutes of exploration. If I could find a warm place to dry off, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with the denizens of such a place. The driveway circled what would have been a fountain if someone added water, and continued on to what I hoped might be a carriage house or a garage. If there were any outbuildings I couldn't see them from here, but if there was nobody around back in what I imagined would be the kitchen, I would strike off in search of other shelter. A path curved back around the far corner of the house, and I followed it as best I could. ....................... That's it! No matter how much I think about this, I can't care if my character finds someone in the kitchen, or goes to the carriage house. Maybe s/he ends up dead in the basement. Maybe s/he meets someone normal. Maybe there's nobody home. In any event, I hope you enjoyed this little trip up the road and around the corner of a house. :P