So, just because I am in the middle of writing two stories doesnt mean the ideas stop coming. The overactiveness of my imagination can get distracting, and in the past I have simply tried to push forward and focus on the task at hand. But lately I have learned to embrace the momentary flashes of brilliance and at least sketch out a rough outline and character descriptions to return to later. A while ago, an idea started rolling around inspired in part by a name of a relative (ancestor? He lived in the 1800s and I never know when to call a person a relative or ancestor. What's the timeline?). When I heard his story and his name, I was instantly attracted to it. The other day, a rough opening to his story came to me and I seized the moment and jotted it down. Here's what I came up with:
"Mr. Ashley was born with nothing, and by the time he married his wife, he had less. Their poverty was the pity of her entire family, for Mrs. Ashley had all the beauty and she had wasted it on a bad marriage. A love match, the worst curse for a pretty girl and a poor man. Nothing could be gained from it, and all the love in the world could not fill their bellies.
Two children were born and died before the age of three. Thus, when the boy was born, he did not have a name until his fourth year. On that day, as his mother lay dying, she felt the despair of life with Mr. Ashley. She had nothing to give her son; no fortune, trinkets, property, nothing but a name. It must declare to the world his intrinsic value, more than the value of wealth or family connections. It must also be a promise, a hope, of the man he might someday become.
And the name she gave him was Diamond."
As I said, very rough random idea. I'm looking forward to writing Diamond Ashely's story. It's been a long time coming. But first, must finish the other works in progress!
