I was so excited to be selected for one of the #WIM editor slots this season. If you aren’t familiar with Writer in Motion, check it out here https://writerinmotion.com/2020/08/01/writer-in-motion-kickoff-the-prompt/

(I would go into more detail, but I’m posting this from my phone in the passenger seat of a car on a road trip sooo)

I am a character-first writer, which doesn’t discount how much weight I put on plot. It just means I usually think up a character– or sometimes an emotional catalyst– and then build a plot around that person and situation. So for WIM, I already knew it would be hard for me to create something out of the prompt whole cloth. Luckily, I always have a stable of archetypes and situations I want to explore.

So I see this plot — this bucolic, pastoral scene– and I fixate on that building. In my messed-up mind, that cottage is glowing, burning, bioluminescent. Ok. Perfect. I had wanted to write about Sarai forever. Sarai works directly for a global leader — and they have a personal connection, which you will be able to see in the story.

So, the image got me thinking of a glowing building where Sarai goes to work. So my mind goes to:

After all these months, the White House still glowed blue.

(yes, blue is where my mind went, not orange.)

I have the whole thing written, but I’ll save it for a week 1 post.