13 Sept 2018

dba LTV Paranormalists - Hauntings Anonymous - Commentary 8

Kristi and Kieu double date to further the investigation, in dba LTV Paranormalists Chapter 8.

If I had known the investigation would lead to a nightclub, I'd have sent it elsewhere.  I don't go to nightclubs - too many people.  So, I did what writers do; I researched the crap out of the setting, added details from personal experience, then turned everything into a fictional setting so that no one would be the wiser.  Then gloss over things so that readers only see what the characters do.  It's a useful skill to hone and have in a writer's toolbox.

Kieu's bias against blondes came up in Chapter 3.  She's getting better, but it all depends on her sleep cycle.  Ayel being reasonable with her is helping Kieu realize that it wasn't every blonde out to get her.  But, Ayel does have a point.  Kieu isn't completely tethered to reality.  Still, I needed Kieu and Ayel to start getting along.  Having that brief chat starts to mend the rift.

If I have a double date going on, then I should show at least some of it.  Kristi gets to interrogate while hitting on a buff warehouse dude.  Whether she's completely into him will be left for the reader.  She is using a few techniques I've heard of, mainly through discussions with real people, to keep Sean's interest.  I know I am dialogue heavy.  What I've developed is working out what everyone is doing along with talking.  Thus, Kristi is flirting, Sean has a drink, Kieu takes to dancing like she's done it from birth.

Ayel and Aiden get to play cavalry.  If something goes wrong, they get to rush over and save the day.  It gives me time to show more of Aidan, the lone male of the team.  He gets a proper intro in the missing first arc, but since that's not there...  The goal I had with Aidan was to have someone who didn't look like a PI be the PI.  He's not hard boiled.

Aidan does have a license to carry a pistol, related to his security and private investigation license.  Kristi, though, has a Possession and Acquisition License completely unrelated to the business.  She's from Northern Ontario, as mentioned two weeks ago.  When she goes out into the wilderness, she has a rifle handy just in case.  She keeps up with shooting as a way to let off steam   The idea came out while writing the first arc; in that moment, Kristi went from hippy-dippy to complex in my head.

Naturally, the end of the chapter is a cliffhanger.  It's an old standard in serials of all types.  How else do creators make sure the audience returns?  The key is making sure the payoff meets up with expectations.

Friday, in dreams he came, in Hauntings Anonymous Chapter 9, "The Phantom of the Warehouse".
Also Friday, over at Psycho Drive-In, a bonus /Bond/ Project entry with Octopussy.
Saturday, over at The Seventh Sanctum, the pros and cons of different adaptation sources.

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