"Who's foot is it?"

Mitchell Weigel asks the crucial question when Kenny shows him the foot.

We're keeping Luke's woods near Krebs Hollow and we've even had him come across some remains. BUT- this is also deer season. And Jim pointed out to me that the regular Joe probably wouldn' t recognize the difference between a human gut pile and a deer gut pile. Especially if the person's expecting to see a deer gut pile due to the season. He'd have no reason to take a closer look and it'd be that easy to dismiss.

We've also dived into Cameron Dillard's character. And his 'buddy' Doug Sheppard. Cameron might be venturing into the hollow- Maybe he'll catch wind of the rumors about Old Neal Sheppard burying money from a robbery out there by that oak with a face.(the same tree that spooked Clint so many chapters back)

In terms of finding out there's a killer out there and thereby giving birth to conflict/crisis, I think what will happen is that either after showing the foot to Mitchell word will leak out about it, or the boys will become fixated with who's foot it is and try to figure it out themselves.

The Foot

I was thinking out loud one day and mentioned the foot to my sister. How I'd described it as being a severed foot with the shin bone still attached. She said that sounded a little cartoony. Maybe make it just a foot and leave out the shin bone.
The key, I think, is to consider what our killer does with his bodies. If he's using them.(Hides, meat to eat, etc.) Or cutting them up to get 'em in a coffee can or something. Etc... What kind of remains would there be? This should reflect how the bodies are 'harvested' by the killer. I'm thinking we've got an Eddie Gein type on our hands. Although be assured-- It will not be a direct lift/rip-off from Ed Gein. It's just quicker to say "Eddie Gein type" than to say: A killer who harvests the bodies and uses them for food, clothing, and other such things much like an Indian would a deer or buffalo.

Luke's about to find a body part and instead of sitting on it, he'll be taking it to the 'proper authorities'. But I realized that by having Luke find a body part in his woods and Clint finding a body part in Krebs Hollow, this would imply that Luke's woods are close to Krebs Hollow.
This is just a regular geographical oddity!


This made me give pause and wonder if I should render a map of Greencastle. But I must keep in mind that I haven't set anything down that would suggest Krebs Hollow and Luke's woods can't be anywhere near each other. It's entirely possbile. It might make me want to rewrite the introduction for Luke Weems to include a reference to Krebs Hollow. Of course, when I wrote Luke's introduction I had no idea there would be a Krebs Hollow. And now that there is... Well, it's all tentative. I'm the writer and it's my story so if I want to change things, I'm entitled. It's my world and I can make it however I want. Besides, putting ooky kooky Krebs Hollow closwer to Luke's woods would actually help keep Luke the center of this and future plots involving Greencastle. His nearness to this 'cursed' place would cause him to get dragged into it, making him the 'Reluctant Hero' I'd wanted him to be from the moment I created the character.

So yes. I believe it will be a good change to the story. Having decided this, I should have no problem finishing the chapter, nien? Of course. So-- Back to work!

Clint & Kenny find a foot

A foot you say??
Yes. A foot. At first I had them finding a shin bone. Then I had to ask myself if there was anything attached. Ankle and foot bones? Oh hell. Let's make it a complete foot. Severed just above the ankle, but leaving the leg bone. Kenny stashes it in Clint's backpack and they store it in Kenny's deep freeze back behind his house.

Carol Dillard and her son are going at it with great vim and vigor. (vim? I think I used that word right.) So far the score's tied at 1 to 1. I'm already wanting Cameron to win most of the arguments... When I started, he was going to totally put her in her place and squash her like a bug. But I think Carol has more venom than I'm giving her credit for. Maybe not quite like Pearl, but Carol's got a bite to her. And I got to thinking that it might be more interesting to write a series of fights that go back and forth, alternating victors. Making it seem either like they love to hate and just enjoy the fight, or it could be that niether of them can stand losing and will do whatever it takes to win. Something. I guess it would be more interesting than having Cam win all the time.

ANYway... That's about as far as it's gotten. Oh, and we changed Cosette's fate. The stray kitty is found on Luke's property all chewed up save the head. He caught sight of a critter's movement but it was too far and too vague for him to be able to accurately say what it was.

Eddie Gein, Where are You?

Buried in Plainfield, that's where.

I've reached a point in the story where the nature of the killer must be decided. The little townie quirks are lovely, but we must try to keep things relevant to the plot lest we spread ouselves too thin. So I did some research on cannibalism and came across Wisconsin native, Ed Gein. The man was twisted. If you're unfamiliar with the story of the Plainfield Butcher, visit this link: http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/streiber/273/gein_cf.htm

(I apologize for the pop-up ads in advance, but the info on this site is quite comprehensive.)

I notice that Ed Gein and Jeffery Dahmer are both from Wisconsin.

Coicidence???

And here I'm setting my little cannibalistic horror thriller in Wisconsin. How fitting. But that wasn't exactly why I chose Wisconsin. I chose to set it in Wisconsin because I felt it was important to pick a location I was most familiar with. Plus I wanted this thing to feel real. To feel like an ordinary small town. And to me, Wisconsin small towns are about as ordinary as you can get. And you get to throw in some of that Norwegian and German heritage.

So ANYway... As ordinary as I want this to be, I'm faced with a decision regarding my killer. I've done a considerable amount of research on cannibalism and there's mention of it as a means for magic. But only as a sympathetic magic.(If I eat you, I'll have your strength/powers) But there was also the eating of hearts in an attempt to gain immortality with the ancient Egyptians. This would mean a whole new line of research.(the ancient Egyptians)

I mean, I could totally make something up--And that's what a good storyteller's supposed to do. Go nuts, be as original as you can. But I want to do it in such a way that you could either "Mulder" it or "Scully" it. Whichever way the reader wants to go with it. Regardless--I gotta know the nature of this killer. Even though we haven't divulged who it is. And may not at all... I need to know as a writer, so I know what tid bits the townsfolk would or wouldn't find as this thing unfolds.

When I started it, I wanted this guy to be real. I wanted the whole thing to be real. But the element of the supernatural has begun to look exceptionally appealing to me. I really could have some fun with this.

Ted Butson's missing

Good ol' Ted. Cap'n of the football team is missing. He was at the Krebs Hollow party with a mass of other seniors the last we see. Clint and Kenny freaked the girls out with Kenny's electronic deer caller and the girls won't be happy until the guys check it out. The guys assured them it was just a deer. Maybe it was the alchohol, but the girls are worried and the guys agree to go check it out. However, they travel in a different direction than where Clint and Kenny are sitting.

It's only been two days--Pinky says he saw Ted's car parked just outside Krebs Hollow and the assumption is that he's just out with a girl or something. Just doing what comes naturally.

The rumors about Pinky and Pearl have become heated, but it's difficult for the women to work up the nerve to talk to Pearl about it. In fact, it makes Pearl tougher to be around. Pearl is, after all, Queen of the Busy Bodies. It's like trying to pull a Jedi Mind Trick on Yoda. But what's also revealed in what I like to call the 'Lion's Den' Chapter, is that Pearl is an incredibly intimidating woman. Helen innocently thought she could shoot the shit with Pearl and come away with another 'scoop' on the Pinky & Pearl Affair. Instead, Pearl starts asking her questions. Like asking if Helen's estranged daughter will be coming home for Christmas this year. And Helen can't wait to get out of there before Pearl eats her alive.

Emery pulls a 'Log Lady' and gives Luke a message. "It's here. And you're the one to stop it."--Which I think I may change when I can thing of something more poetic and after I've determined the nature of this killer. Part of me is playing with the idea of making this a little supernatural. We'll just play it as it goes. After all, that's what revision is for, right?

So I've got my writing mug. I've got my music. I just have to pick an angle and take off. There's Carol's son, Cameron. Did he get his parole? Is he coming home? Sure. It'll fuck with the Dillard's family dynamics and make an interesting addition to the conflict.

Then What?
We'll see when we get there. Let the writing take you wherever.

The many citizens of Greencastle

At first, I was systematically going down a list of characters. But then one morning I was looking to write a chapter strictly from one of the many characters' P.O.V. only to realize that there was no conflict to be had. Nothing was happening. It was getting tedious making a chapter for everybody. and It was lending itself towards telling and not showing. I also realized that I need to take my time and let the little conflicts happen and use them as a means to get to know the characters.(I was trying to hurry up and write up the character desrciptions so that I could get to the murder and mayhem) But this isn't how you make the characters sympathetic to the reader. It's how you tell and not show. I see this now.

SO--
We've created a place of mysticism and ooky-spooky legend:

KREBS HOLLOW
The story of Krebs Hollow began with a man who killed his wife and buried her pieces throughout that area. People later reported seeing ghosts and 'unnatural happenings'. But today, it's merely a hot spot for underage activities.
I stop and wonder about this being cliche... But then, it's based in reality. There was a guy by the name of Coffee headed out towards my folks' place and he'd supposedly killed his wife, cut her up and buried her in--Get this-- Coffee cans. No joke. That's the story. The other part is that every town has a place where kids go. Kids are always going to want to break some major rules, and they're always going to be looking for a quiet, unassuming corner of town to break these laws without getting caught. The trick will be how I write it. Style and approach(angle) will be everything.

ALSO:
The rumors are spreading like venereal disease... Sandy Nettles is missing, as is Randall Overmeyer. Sandy told her husband she was going to play bridge but she's never played bridge before in her life. With both of them missing and Sandy lying about her destination, it seemed only logical to Pearl Carter, Queen of the Busy Bodies, that the two are engaged in some sort of sordid love affair.

The mind reels.....

Meet Brian Wagner

He's a Greencastle native. He teaches English at the Greencastle High School. So I suppose at some point I'll be writing a chapter where he and Luke cross paths.
ANYway,
He's one of those laid back 'non-traditional' type teachers. He's not afraid to come to work/school in faded blue jeans and a t-shirt. In fact, he seldom ever wears slacks(dress pants, chinos, whatever you want to call them) He's relatively friendly with his students, encouraging them to do the work they're asked because they'll learn from it, not because they ~have to~.

When we first meet Brian, he's bumming a cigarette from Kenny Overmeyer, a student in his Junior English class. It's suggested that Kenny's mom, Margie, has 'issues' and did something to her husband Randall that was quite drastic, but Randall forgives her still. This is something we can develop later. I'd like Margie Overmeyer to be a 'quirky' or possibly 'neurotic' character, in the way that Nadine Hurley was in Twin Peaks. Only, perhaps not on the domestic front like Nadine.("Completely silent drape runners!") I don't know. But I want to make her odd/unique.

Okay, this is supposed to be about Brian, non? Back to it.
Brian's a naturalist. I'd like to see his behavior and attitude to reflect the ideas in Walden, as this is his favorite book. He's also a Faulkner fan.(A unique breed, indeed) Which will require a lot of reading on my part. But hell, I love to read.
ANYway-- Brian's parents retired and moved to Florida a couple years ago and left Brian the house. The opening scene puts Brian in the High School Parking lot, so we have yet to see him in the home setting. But we'll get there.