The Plan

Thank you for buying into your own delusion that if you set a plan you’ll actually follow through on it.

I did walk to town.  And there wasn’t any ice.  There’s plenty if I go right at the end of the road, but none if I go left.  Both ways get to town eventually, and right is a busier route, so I don’t really understand that.  Weather came under geography and I never was any good at that.  History, now that was my kinda lesson.

But anyway, I went to town.  Do you know where is a bad place to plan the plot for a story in which humans are going extinct?  In a shopping centre two Saturdays before Christmas.

I did think about the story on the walk there.  Not in a very structured way, but I figured there was plenty of time for that.  There’s never anyone on that stretch of pavement, so it’s a good place to get lost in thoughts.  Then I arrived.  I had £10.  I thought that would easily cover a whole bunch of Christmas cards.

I was an idiot.  I bought the local newspaper, a pair of tweezers, a video of The Jungle Book because I recall Cary Elwes is in it and I can add it to the list of awful films Cary Elwes is in (why do I do this to myself?), and twenty-two Christmas cards.  That’s all I could afford with ten pounds.  The worst part is, in the attempt to be able to afford another pack of cards, I deliberately picked up a pack that had been miss-priced.  I did this in a charity shop.  So now I’m going to Hell and I still don’t have enough cards. 

And the walk home, which at least would be quiet, found me knackered from walking around trying to find a good price so I was unable to think about the story at all. 

And then I spent about two hours updating the Amazon wish list.  Don’t know how it took that long.  A pointless activity since most sane people have already bought their Christmas presents.  Still, all I really want is a satnav, a Woody doll and a sonic screwdriver wii remote.  What’s the guessing I don’t get any of those?  Not to be ungrateful, of course.  It really, truly is the thought that counts.  Which reminds me, I still haven’t sent The Brother his last year’s Christmas present.

Eventually though I did settle to the plan.  I’ve got quite a detailed idea now of how the first bit will go.  What I still don’t know though is where it’s going.  I don’t even know how much of the story this first bit is supposed to be (are we talking prologue, about half, or everything bar the finale?).  And I can’t really write any more until I know that.

Maybe I’ll work it out before I fall asleep tonight (I definitely won’t).