Maggie's Blog

This week's writing prompt from Writing Excuses was interesting: pick a character and write a blog post the way that they would write it.

After some thought, I picked Maggie Duella from Ness Swan.  Maggie is a twenty-something who at the start of the novel has quit her journalist career for personal reasons and is trying to discover herself.  She's a side character who discovers some important things in the later half of the story.  I decided that this prompt would be a fun way to explore some of her backstory.

This "blog post" is written a little over two years prior to the novel's beginning, when Maggie's career is starting to take-off.  Her "blog" is business-oriented, self-promotional, and geared towards advancing a story and yet there is a sense that at its heart, she is also sincerely seeking out the truth and wants it out in the open.  My hope is to give a glimpse into a young person who is driven to succeed but still has some idealism.

Also, because she's a jounalist, I tried to bring the same writing technique that newspapermen use as taught me in my high school journalism class.  (One of my few pet peeves about writing is when novelists try to write newspaper articles in their stories.  All too often, they get it wrong.  Newspapermen focus on telling the maximum of detail (or facts) in as few words possible.  Novelists tend to do the opposite; even when they're in active voice, they still use twice as many words than a news editor would ever let them get away with.  It's an odd thing that breaks my suspension of disbelief, but that's just how it is.)

Let me know how you think I did.

This is sci-fi, 181 words, and may give you a taste in what elements my novel contains.

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Industrialist Chirra Kneut and two associates were arrested for tax fraud, 29 Fourmonth, in Phrain City Blessed Orange Hotel.

I interviewed Kneut and his associate, Rex Gundam (an Earther who changed citizenship two years ago), as well as Captain Raos Jejje, in charge of their arrest.  To read my story, click here and you will also find related links to others.

While the alleged crime has been researched to great length this past week, from the business to their personal lives, I discovered one field in Kneut’s company out of place with mining installations.  Kneut invested millions in hibernetic technologies.

Hibernetics, the technology to induce human hibernation, has been a largely obsolete field since the Whirl became affordable for commercial use.  Now that ordinary citizens can travel to the nearest planet in two weeks, there is no need to induce sleep beyond the normal patterns.

Why would Kneut invest so much in a field that is considered a financial failure?

The money has been tracked to Li V’Camron, hibernetic researcher in RallyCorp.  If you have information regarding RallyCorp, V’Camron, or hibernetics in general, please contact me here.