Thinking Through The Story - 3/1/16

I am getting chapter two hammered out and trying to look ahead to what's next. I thought came to mind yesterday as I was sitting and sketching out potential plot lines. I have brought back all of these survivors and most fans like them. With that many people in the cast, it stands to reason that some (perhaps many) of them are not going to survive. Who do I really want to kill out of this group? I've got a few ideas but I'm actually uncomfortable at the thought of any of them dying. I just don't think the story will be as believable (as believable as it can be) if I let all of these folks live. For one, I'd have to introduce a lot of new characters just for the sake of having people to kill. I've never really liked that device and I think it is what caused some of the films to be less that great. I want characters that people like and don't want to see die. That way when some (or all) of them don't make it, there is some emotional investment. It's just something that crossed my mind as I was writing yesterday. I really am going to have to kill some of these characters that I love. That's going to suck.

Thinking Through The Story - 2/25/16

When I sat down and actually started writing I realized that some of the background material may change as I move forward. I have a pretty good idea as to where I'm going but little things sometimes pop up. For example, in my notes and outlines I had the tabloid show named Real TV. As I was writing I remembered that there used to be a show called that so I changed it. I also had to tweak some of the dates and ages of people to make sure they fit the timeline I am using. That is much harder than I thought because there are numerous timelines for the franchise out there and none of them agree on 100% of the information. My timeline doesn't even do that. I have merged and altered the two found HERE and HERE just in case you were wondering. As the story progresses it will become obvious that I am pretty much ignoring most of the events in part VIII and completely throwing out part IX. Jason X is a non issue because that takes place in the future. I despise Freddy vs. Jason so I won't be borrowing anything from it either. The 2009 remake is a different film and timeline altogether so I ignore it as well. I do make reference to past VII and have included Tina as a character but I leave some of the details around her experience ambiguous.

One of the things I am doing (albeit cautiously) is altering the Voorhees family history ever so slightly. I don't want to reveal what I've come up with yet but I promise that it isn't as kooky as the mythology in part IX. I will say that I have borrowed Tom McLoughlin's idea of introducing Elias Voorhees into the story.He obviously won't play a huge part because the story is set in 2014. Pamela, according to the tombstone in part IV, was born in 1930. If Elias was the exact same age as her (and I'm suggesting that he wasn't) he would be at least 84 when my story takes place. That being said, Elias does serve a function in my story but he is not a character. I haven't even decided if he is still living. For better or worse (and it may be worse) I am trying to fix some of things that have always bugged me about the series. Whenever you do that, you're bound to upset some folks. If people actually read this I imagine that some of them are going to hate what I've done. That's cool. We all have our opinions concerning these movies and we all have our own ideas as to how they should go.

I do want to say this. If you are reading this, thank you. I am doing this simply for my own entertainment but I thought that there might be one or two fans out there who would get a kick out of it.

What I Am Doing?

I need a place to post some of my writing so I am starting this thing up. I only plan to work on one project at a time and I may not post something every day. This is going to be a work in progress but it will eventually host full length creations. Much of what I plan to post here is horror and fantasy. It is something that I have always enjoyed reading and writing but it falls outside the parameters of what I do for a living. I am a pastor in a small rural church. For that reason I am using a pseudonym here. It's not that I am ashamed of this stuff or that I am trying to deceive people. One of the unfortunate results of the career I've chosen is that it opens me up to unfair judgment and criticism from time to time. Some folks frown upon the idea of a minister enjoying horror. While I understand their viewpoint, they rarely understand mine. So, with that out of the way, I launch this thing.

The first project I am working on is a sequel to the Friday the 13th films. That may seem an especially odd choice but I am part of the generation that grew up watching these movies. There is a lot wrong with them but I do believe that some of them were actually good and had some positive things to say. What I hope to do is write a story that brings back many (not all) of the survivors from several of the films and have their lives collide with one another. The story is set in 2014, which is 35 years after the events of the first movie, 30 years after the events of the next three films, and 20 years after the events in the sixth film. It is nearly impossible to correctly line up the timeline of the series because the films were filmed during a 30 year span and they don't try to line up with one another. There is no real continuity but there have been a few attempts to come up with a couple of logical timelines. I have taken the two most popular and altered them to fit my story.

The first couple of posts here will contain background information. I have sheet with the main characters and I have one with some background about the Crystal Lake area as it it exists in my story. I also have some other stuff that I will share as I am writing. I plan to publish one chapter at a time but I won't post one until it is completely finished. That means this is a long process. I can't write a novel in a week. Well, I guess I could but that's not going to happen. I do have a job and a family that demands a lot of my time. I'm not a professional writer so I do this for fun in my spare time. I do hope it goes smoothly and doesn't take too terribly long. I would honestly like to have a new chapter up every week but if I can get one up every two weeks, I won't be disappointed.

If there is anyone out there actually reading this, please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I have a pretty good idea where I'm going with this but I am always open to suggestions.

Enjoy.