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| C.S.E. COONEY - her advice comes in many directions. Prepare to remove your head so you can see all the elements. |
DONALD MAASS WRITE
TIP #91
What does your MC
see, know or get about people that few others do? Create three demonstrations
of that.
“I
do see you, Verda."
"You
don’t see me, though."
Tanner
stared at her, confused. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say to
that."
"I
wish you could see me," she said. Her voice was hollow, her mouth turned
down and aching, her eyes half-closed and veiled to block out the light.
"I want you to see me.
"I tried to force your sight when the sun was eclipsed.
"Sometimes it’s like you can – could – see me. I catch you staring and your eyes have that glazed look. It almost makes me believe you do see me."
"I tried to force your sight when the sun was eclipsed.
"Sometimes it’s like you can – could – see me. I catch you staring and your eyes have that glazed look. It almost makes me believe you do see me."
Tanner's back had become rigid with the force of his will. "And what do you think I
should see?" he said defensively. He shook his head. "You’re a girl. I’m sure I know how you-all are put together."
"Is this all you see?" Verda shook her head
and sent her long plait dancing.
She
released her breath with an explosive sigh. "Why am I bothering?”
"No!
Yes. Let me try to understand," Tanner said quickly, unaware that he was
shaking his head, no longer even trying to meet Verda’s eyes. "If I did
see you, what would I see then? Because, if you’re telling me you’re a
reworking of the old species I’ve looked enough for me to tell you I’m sure I
would have noticed."
"Maybe…
not.”
“I
think, Yes.”
“But,
your eyes can only see a fraction of the light in the world," she
whispered. Her hands were clenched so tightly she could feel individual nails
piercing her palms. "And, your brain can only process information from the
visible light rays.”
"My
brain–?"
“Sees
the vibrations red through to violet.”
His
heart was racing, even though his thoughts were thick like sludge. “Did I
complain that you never tell me anything? The pressure - I feel like the
pressure in my head is expanding ‘til it’ll explode – I almost want it to – but
if it did then I wouldn’t know what you mean."
Verda’s
found it hard to speak; she opened her mouth only to close it again. She wanted
to run through her calculations and this time recomputed until the data
indicate that telling Tanner the truth wasn’t worth the risk. "This is
difficult for me," she confessed.
“Not
so me,” gasped Tanner. “It’s a skip in the park over here.”
Her
hands trembled. The fact that every part of her body was flooded with positive
and negative reactions amazed her. It made her careless. “I am more than–“
“Don’t!
I don’t care. I am looking at you. Even if I can’t see the all you’re worried
about, I love you. Loving you makes me more than I could ever have been…if I
hadn’t seen you that morning in the woods. So, we’re even. I want to belong to
you. Completely. If you – seeing everything, and more, like you always do – if
you want me too.”
CAN YOUR MC SEE MORE THAN EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HER?
She see's through the BS, even if she doesn't know how to reconcile it.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing exercise; love the angst in the characters.
......dhole
Hi Donna
ReplyDeleteShe can see through an awful lot that others might try to keep hidden. Opening herself up to Tanner is difficult, when he offers her the easy-out it's going to be tempting to take it and not explain all about her skills.