Booking a Travel Tale
All right, now we need to cut out the ones that might not fit the brief and those that have a long gestation period or just won’t work on hindsight.
1 Bus driver and passengers different thoughts as they travel, is a good idea but the travel element is thin. It could be in another setting – a café where two waiters see the couple in different ways because of the waiter’s backgrounds, or two writers tackling this assignment, which I like for another day as they argue over these ten options. For now, OUT
2. Bushveld pilot – Will do and only needs development but change the setting to Australia. IN
3. The clipper at Cape Horn could be in a storm. A pregnant woman. Two rivals of some kind. A miner coming back from the Yukon with gold and now wishing he’d never left to go prosp[ecting. This could be really dramatic and show how people pull together in a crisis. An indecisive captain and a strong first mate. ≤ 1700 words? Maybe not. Leave it out!
4. Missed travel connection is a romance for People’s Friend but it might answer the brief. Might! But does it depend on travel? I think it does. It might be a bit weak in plot, though, and need a lot more to give it tension over the word length. OUT
5. Aliens kidnapping Mrs Boniface. Not really travel OUT
6. Would be Astronauts – This could be set in many situations and travel is not an essential element. OUT
7. No away games. I’m intrigued with this. Why will he not go away? A sick parent? Travel sickness? I had a look at the old story but it’s not even the lower limit of 1500 words. OUT
8. Computer travel might be a bit thin but it is travel based and I’ll give it a bit more thought to get the two people at odds and maybe a triangle. A father that needs attention or maybe they are planning a getaway and become absorbed in the travel and that puts them at risk of capture or violence from the gang. IN
9. Lifts to an interview changing his out look – Too thin. The idea could be made to work but I’m not sure how, offhand.
10A. Mrs Boniface in Germany. I like this but need to really work in it. It belongs to an Oakhaven episode so for now – OUT
10. Two writers discuss 5 and 10A. I smile when I think of this one but it is not dependent on travel and really is for another day. OUT
So, we have 2 and 8, the outback pilot and the computer traveller to get on with.
3 would meet the assignment but is too long. 10A will be an Oakhaven episode and I like the idea of the aliens trying to Kidnap or duplicate a Mrs Boniface but finding she is too domineering and pushing off, leaving her two selves arguing.
I won’t dump any of these, they just go on the back burner.
Dialogue about dialogueConversation only story