OK – I have quit the outline for the new novel. I’m sorry, but it’s just not working now. I can’t explain it but the story is just petering out as I am trying to write it. Actually, I can explain it – there was no sense of personal danger for the main character. So, I wrote in nice big, red letters – Do It Again From The Second Act.

I am just going to work this out here on the blog. I figure y’all should get what you pay for – wait, this is free? Dammit…

Anyway, what I’m not changing is everything up to Danny (all names here are place names) getting tossed out of the village ten miles away from his body. I am still going to introduce the wraiths – people who got tossed out of their bodies and never got back to them in time, so they’re just roaming around the world. Danny is immediately set upon by these wraiths and is almost torn apart, but one wraith fights them back and tosses him into a horse (yes, you read that right) where he can hide until the worst has passed. When he gets the all clear from the friendly wraith, he steps out of the horse and it falls over. The wraith explains what happens – when Danny steps into a body, he displaces the soul…just like what the Rahsaya do. When he steps out of that creature and the soul is nearby, it goes back into the body. If it’s not, the body falls over dead. Danny asks what happened to the horse’s soul. The friendly wraith says that the horse’s soul was consumed by the other wraiths to keep from fading away into oblivion. Danny is naturally horrified over what he did – he’s not a murderer. The wraith tells him to either get over it, or offer himself up to the nearest wraith (him) and get consumed. Danny gets the first big lesson of life outside the village – you’re either predator or prey. Danny asks why the wraith is helping him. The wraith says that he (Danny) feels new to all of this, and he’s doing this as a good favor for whatever is on the other side. Danny asks what he should do now. The wraith says do whatever, just remember that the best way to hide is jump into a body and possess it; also to never try to possess a dead body, if you do that you will never get out of it until it rots away completely. Danny asks where he is, and the wraith says he’s about 20 miles from his home village. Danny asks for some more advice and the wraith says run and hide.

Now, this is different because we have the main character in immediate peril. He has to find his way back and avoid becoming wraith chow – to top it off; he has the clock to worry about as well. Right now, his body is getting further and further away to do who-knows-what. This is the second act: the introduction of the conflict. He’s got to get his body or face something far worse than death. So, he starts running.

He discovers two things: one, he doesn’t suffer from any physical sense of fatigue. Two, those wraths are everywhere. Danny manages to duck around several packs, and finds that he can pick up natural objects (this is the realm of Plato’s Ideals) and has to defend himself every now and then. We’re seeing that Danny is actually a better fighter than we were led to believe in the confrontation with Brock. As he fights his way towards the village, he comes across Ronda. Up to this point, he’s been ignored by the people but seen by the wraiths. Ronda acknowledges him as a person and asks how threw him out. He just says that something bumped into him last night and ever since then, he’s been on the outside looking in as it were. Ronda tells him about the Rasayah and what they do – they inhabit people the same way people would get dressed. They don’t really care about the ones they displace…well, a majority of them don’t. Some try to be ‘stand-up people’ as it were. She knows about them because she was ‘touched’ by one – born to one and shares some of their lesser powers. She can sense them, can speak to them directly and can’t be taken over by them. Danny asks for help in this matter. Ronda says that she can help him, but there it isn’t going to be a free ride. She’s trying to bring someone in and could use the help – in return, she is going to try to help him at least to hide better in an object or a person – so long as he agrees to return the body to the owner when he’s done with it.

So – what do you think? I am going to add more to it tomorrow and build the story. Feedback is always appreciated.

Sincerely

Seething Apathy