More questions about my NaNo Novel...

Back in the writing days of my youth, before I had the Internets at my disposal, I'd work through my writer's block by writing out questions and then, and then, answering myself -- sort of like one of those metaphorical dialogues from the Middle Ages.

Now, that I do have the Internets, I can still ask myself, but you guyzes can also pipe up and shout out answers (a bit like a Christ-a-massy Pantomime!) (Yay!) (Please do... it helps).

• Question One: What sort of stress is the mother under, that she is projecting her fears and insecurities onto her daughter?
  
  
  • It might be because of unresolved issues or wishes from her own childhood, or
    
  • stress about work, or maybe
    
  • someone from her past comes back into her life. Or maybe it's not the past, maybe she's worried about
    
  • a Big Change that is looming in their future.
  
  
  The unresolved issues, if that's what it is, might be triggered by someone coming back from her past... That might be interesting. Could it be someone from her past coming back to warn her about the future? Or is that going overboard?
  
  
• Question Two: What sort of job / work does the mother have? That would determine what sort of stress she's under, and/or what sort of warning she gets... Well, what are some broad catagories of work?
  
  
  • Construction / Factory / Manual Labor
    
  • Intellectual / Accademic
    
  • Business / economic
    
  • Travel / Exploration
    
  • Medical
    
    Of these, I think "Business," and "travel" would be the most believable in a) giving enough privelege / allow the most free energy to give over to worrying about her daughter's future status (rather than just, say, making sure she's healthy and safe). And if the mother has a mid-level job in either of these fields, that could put her under the most pressure to "keep up a appearances."
  
  
  
• Question Three: Why do the mother, daughter, and daughter's favorite toys go to stay in old House-with- issues -Mystery?
  
  
  • The mother might be laid off, or lose her job, and they go to stay with a relative in a "new" place until they get resettled. Or maybe:
    
  • it's the Holidays[tm], and they're just staying at this house because it's family (formal family reunion/vacation). Is it
    
  • for the Mother's job -- a business-related trip "Vacation" (i.e. is it a boss's house, or retreat? If it's for work, why would the daughter be there?)
  
  
  
• Question Four: Is the Old House with Mystery directly connected to the toy factory where our Monster Teddy Hero was born?
  
  
  • I don't think so... After all, the teddy travels some distance in a cargo container before arriving at the store where he is found and taken home... and if the Teddy's magic life-giving heart does turn out to be a charm from the toy company's founder, then I'm already including the "Factory perspective."
    
    
  • On the other hand, if it is connected to the factory, than the teddy monster could have important insight into solving the mystery... But would that make him too much of a Marty-Sue?

More of the Inner Dialogue between me, myself, my muse and I...

(quote):
This old house once knew my children
This old house once knew my wife
This old house was home and comfort
As we fought the storms of life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness
When the lightnin' walks about
(unquote)

(Just a song going through my head, now that I've started meditating on this particular strand of my story.)

Note: I don't particularly like the terms "subplot" or "B plot," etc., especially in a children's story where the protagonist / viewpoint character has so little control over the events that move the story from one place to another. The protagonist may have no idea of the parent's troubles with the Boss, but when a job is lost or promotion granted, and suddenly the whole family has to pack up and move 'cross country, you can hardly call those "other" troubles a subplot. When making a braid, which of the three strands is "primary"?

And that is particularly true when the character is a house and its primary concerns and worries are about the humans moving through and around it.

( written out as an actual dialogue between the four of 'us' -- cut for length )