Man cave

[Ad Astra]

...as the black cow’s hoof telephone rang on his desk.

That's some vivid western imagery, right there.

More! Or other, lesser writers, will take over ...

"Suddenly a purple glare came through the window, freezing him in place. A humming sound got louder, and then a shadow, as a robotic alien - not of this Earth - floated through the broken glass ..."


AA

 

[Intrigued]

More! Or other, lesser writers, will take over ...

"Suddenly a purple glare came through the window, freezing him in place. A humming sound got louder, and then a shadow, as a robotic alien - not of this Earth - floated through the broken glass ..."


AA

Don't quit your day job...

 

[simon1]

Where's the rest of the story???

+1
It's off to a good start!

You guys will have to wait a year or two for the book to come out. Do you prefer paperback or hard cover for your autographed copies?

That's some vivid western imagery, right there.

More! Or other, lesser writers, will take over ...

"Suddenly a purple glare came through the window, freezing him in place. A humming sound got louder, and then a shadow, as a robotic alien - not of this Earth - floated through the broken glass ..."


AA

Excellent satire, my friend.

I have a cow's hoof phone on my desk...exactly like this one. You must be one of them there youngsters if you don't remember these...the rotary ones instead of digital.

 

[Ad Astra]

You guys will have to wait a year or two for the book to come out. Do you prefer paperback or hard cover for your autographed copies?



Excellent satire, my friend.

I have a cow's hoof phone on my desk...exactly like this one. You must be one of them there youngsters if you don't remember these...the rotary ones instead of digital.

Ours was Harvest Gold ...zzzzzzzzk! Chik-chik-chik-chik-chik.

Shoot; my Grandma's phone number was "Atwater 3534," something like that.

AA

 

[simon1]

Ours was Harvest Gold ...zzzzzzzzk! Chik-chik-chik-chik-chik.

Shoot; my Grandma's phone number was "Atwater 3534," something like that.

AA

Mine as a kid was Circle 5-4276...which transferred later to 245-4276. So your Grandma's was 283534, huh? That's even an earlier number than mine was...six digits instead of seven. Now days they are ten digits even for a local call...area code, prefix, then the number. I forget Granddad's number, but he was on a party line and the bell ring tone for him to answer was two short and one long.

 

[Ad Astra]

Mine as a kid was Circle 5-4276...which transferred later to 245-4276. So your Grandma's was 283534, huh? That's even an earlier number than mine was...six digits instead of seven. Now days they are ten digits even for a local call...area code, prefix, then the number. I forget Granddad's number, but he was on a party line and the bell ring tone for him to answer was two short and one long.

We had a millennial couple in our house recently... The girl said, "You have a PHONE in your kitchen! That's so cute!"

Yeah, and the roll-of-paper note pad on the wall next to it ... Just like "That 70s Show."

I even SHAVE with old fashioned stuff ...

AA

 

[simon1]

We had a millennial couple in our house recently... The girl said, "You have a PHONE in your kitchen! That's so cute!"

Yeah, and the roll-of-paper note pad on the wall next to it ... Just like "That 70s Show."

I even SHAVE with old fashioned stuff ...

AA

I hear ya. Kinda like the Valley Girl things from earlier are now...Oh that's so last century. Now it's Oh that's so last week.

I'll go you one better on the phone. This was in my Granddad's attic, and my cousin and I used to play with it...you could pick up the receiver and talk into the mouthpiece and hear yourself through the receiver. I never saw it in operation as the phone lines at that time did not match with the crank phones. I snagged this after Granddad passed. It's a Western Electric...with a big Eveready battery in it. Battery is dead now.

It now hangs in the dining room.

 

[simon1]

Where's the rest of the story???

+1
It's off to a good start!

Okay guys, that's just something I hammered out real quick. I may need some help doing an outline. I've been out of state for awhile and not been able to do anything with the cave, much less do a story.

So...apparently there is an organization that doesn't want him investigating the murder. Sooo...where does it go from here. Rick needs to put a team together after he realizes what's going on.

Who are the team members and what are their specialties?

How many team members? Three, four, five? It needs to be a small team and not an army's worth.

The other investigator, Ray, a former Dallas P.D. detective seems an obvious choice for one. He's a real person. Maybe I should include Larry, a retired IRS Criminal Investigator, FBI agent and U.S. Customs Investigator (was a SAC in Corpus with Customs) that did stings on the Mexican cartels, Gerry, a former Border Patrol Agent and member of the Border Patrol pistol team in National competitions for several years. And maybe John, a retired U.S. Marshal, although I haven't seen him in years. That makes five including Rick. These are all real people and friends of mine. Oh...and maybe Eddie, a retired Texas Ranger. He showed me how to handle forged checks by the edges when I first started and he was still active. That makes six. One more and we'd have the Magnificent Seven.

What organization is it that taped the flash bang to his office door under the window to blow it out and who is the voice on the phone receiver that he dropped after the office window blew out that says "Back off, *****" ? I know...I haven't put that part in the story yet.

It takes awhile to even write a small 20 page short story, much less a 400 page novel. And then there is editing, re-writing, editing again, etc., etc., etc.

Any ideas?

 

[simon1]

Oh, and Eddie was head of the local state drug task force after he retired from the Rangers. After I first started college he called me several times and asked me to join and I said no, as I was only in my second year of skooling. He later sent me a very thick envelope with an application to the Fannin County Sheriff's Office that would sponsor me for the task force and an application for the task force. I still said no. Turned out to be a good thing...after the task force lost funds and disbanded I would have been a Deputy in the low paying small county with no education. That may not have been such a bad thing.

 

[R100]

Just spitballing here.

First decide whether the story is character driven or plot driven. If character driven then create the characters (the team) first and make the plot fit their skill sets. If plot driven create the plot first and let it tell you what skill sets are needed in a team. Then on the next draft introduce the team that has those skills and plug them into the plot where needed.

And whatever you do, follow your muse and don’t take our word for anything.

 

[Intrigued]

Okay guys, that's just something I hammered out real quick. I may need some help doing an outline. I've been out of state for awhile and not been able to do anything with the cave, much less do a story.

So...apparently there is an organization that doesn't want him investigating the murder. Sooo...where does it go from here. Rick needs to put a team together after he realizes what's going on.

Who are the team members and what are their specialties?

How many team members? Three, four, five? It needs to be a small team and not an army's worth.

The other investigator, Ray, a former Dallas P.D. detective seems an obvious choice for one. He's a real person. Maybe I should include Larry, a retired IRS Criminal Investigator, FBI agent and U.S. Customs Investigator (was a SAC in Corpus with Customs) that did stings on the Mexican cartels, Gerry, a former Border Patrol Agent and member of the Border Patrol pistol team in National competitions for several years. And maybe John, a retired U.S. Marshal, although I haven't seen him in years. That makes five including Rick. These are all real people and friends of mine. Oh...and maybe Eddie, a retired Texas Ranger. He showed me how to handle forged checks by the edges when I first started and he was still active. That makes six. One more and we'd have the Magnificent Seven.

What organization is it that taped the flash bang to his office door under the window to blow it out and who is the voice on the phone receiver that he dropped after the office window blew out that says "Back off, *****" ? I know...I haven't put that part in the story yet.



Any ideas?

The team sounds good so far. Maybe bring in a new character as the story unfolds to bring the number to seven by the end of the story. You could adjust the ages of your characters to suit your narrative. Is your main character in his prime with an ongoing business or a world-weary guy with just a couple of cases to wrap-up before he retires?

Your man cave needs a cat. The cat is either already in residents before the flash bang blows out the window or takes up residents before he can get the window repaired. It's either an old tom with a lot of attitude or a momma cat that decide the man cave was a perfect place to deliver her litter (I know you've been there, lived that).

Your story needs at least one strong woman "character" that weaves through the story. She could be a CI, a waitress, girl friday, or someone that works at a place you frequent to obtain information.

It also needs a young person, male or female, as part of the main story or as a side story. A troubled youth or a youth in trouble. Someone who the main character willingly (child of a fallen LEO) or unwillingly (a runaway, an apparent hoodlum caught stealing) ends up mentoring.

 

[Bhugo]

I hear ya. Kinda like the Valley Girl things from earlier are now...Oh that's so last century. Now it's Oh that's so last week.

I'll go you one better on the phone. This was in my Granddad's attic, and my cousin and I used to play with it...you could pick up the receiver and talk into the mouthpiece and hear yourself through the receiver. I never saw it in operation as the phone lines at that time did not match with the crank phones. I snagged this after Granddad passed. It's a Western Electric...with a big Eveready battery in it. Battery is dead now.

It now hangs in the dining room.

View attachment 958071

Sweet!

 

[simon1]

Your man cave needs a cat.

Got that covered...Grandma don't like loud noises...hides under the bed when it thunders.

 

[simon1]

Just spitballing here.

First decide whether the story is character driven or plot driven. If character driven then create the characters (the team) first and make the plot fit their skill sets. If plot driven create the plot first and let it tell you what skill sets are needed in a team. Then on the next draft introduce the team that has those skills and plug them into the plot where needed.

And whatever you do, follow your muse and don’t take our word for anything.

Most of my stuff has been plot driven...I develop the character's qualities and skills during the story. Characters are investigated after the plot is established. Draft the characters on the needs of the plot.

I think the plot has already been established for the Rick story.