Monday, September 20, 2010
Unto Me outline begins
First chapter of Unto Me outlined. Im really excited about this novel and expect it to be a great story.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Unto Me Character Outlines
Piper - Piper was abandoned by his mother at an early age and has a complex about women. Thus the novel is void of the tender and embracing warmth of a mother's love. Instead the relationships we see in the novel are cool but sincere and often lead to violence. It is a more masculine view of relationships.
Piper was placed in an orphanage after being abandoned by his mother. He is a man of great size which leads another boy in the orphanage, Max Fowler, to use Piper to his advantage. Max is the only one to take an interest in Piper and Piper quickly develops a fierce loyalty to him. Max is older than Piper and essentially Piper comes to view him as an older brother or even a father figure. Piper finally leaves the orphanage with Max (does Max adopt him?) and they get involved with gang crime. Piper becomes Max's muscle within the gang, though it goes against his nature. Piper does not love violence but is scared that, without Max, he will be alone again. It is a son trying to please his father relationship.
Piper's main redeeming quality is his affinity to children and especially orphans. He begins to take in children with no home and by the time the novel begins he has taken in 6-7 children (all boys). He tries to be the best roll model he can to the children but, since he is not intelligent, he worries about whether he is a good influence or not. He does, however, love the children with a silent love that is not spoken but felt deeply by most of the children.
Max Fowler - Piper's child hood friend and father figure: Max Fowler is the polar opposite of Piper. Max is a small, slim man with a clever intellect. He is the primary villain in the novel. He takes advantage of Piper's obvious devotion and uses Piper as a tool of violence. Max, like Piper, was abandoned but instead of seeking out relationships to fill the scars he closes himself off to other people. Max's abandonment causes him to resent anyone trying to care deeply about other people. Piper's "collection" of children is disgusting to Max. Piper, too, is seen as an agitating existence. Piper's open need for family and affection is sickening to Max but he tolerates it because Piper is a good tool.
When he left the orphanage, Max joined up with a local gang and through deceit and cunning was able to seize his position at the top. He enjoys power because it gives him the satisfaction of abandoning others. At the turning point in the novel, Max abandons Piper and this gives Max a feeling of ecstasy.
Danny - The most recent addition to Piper's family. Danny is in the middle, by age, compared to the other boys.
Danny's mother is a prostitute and addict. She would lock Danny in a closet while she was getting high or having sex with clients. She would often pass out without remembering to let Danny out (or not caring enough to) and he would spend almost 24 hours locked away. This severe isolation would be torturous to a young mind. Danny's trauma forces his mind to put up barriers which are represented in the novel as closet doors. When the abuse first begins Danny screams and cries when his mom shuts him in the closet but as his mental defenses build up he becomes quiet and reserved. He obeys his mother with a complete lack of emotion, like a prisoner.
Living with Piper, Danny is slowly being lead down the path towards accepting relationships again. At the turning point of the novel Danny, secretly, witnesses Piper being forced to kill the two oldest boys. Max Fowler has given these two boys work dealing drugs behind Piper's back (Piper allows the boys to do errands for the gang but nothing specifically illegal). The boys botch a deal and Max Fowler gives Piper the option of killing them or being killed himself. Piper is unable to shoot them but Max does anyway. Piper tries to attack Max and Max silently guns him down. Witnessing this causes Danny, who has just begun to view Piper as his father, to feel the strongest feeling he has felt since his mother began locking him in the closet.
"All the emotion that had been locked away behind those shuttered doors came roaring through Danny's mind. Since the day those doors appeared, he had shut everything behind them. Not wanting to feel, he had peeked at the world through the cracks and had thought himself safe behind his flimsy barrier. Now, as he looked at the body of the man who had saved him from his carceral lifestyle and a man who was as close to a father as Danny would ever have, he felt the closet doors swell and then splinter under the torrent of sadness and rage that poured out of him.
Danny cried. He cried for the man who was his savior, who had loved him like a son. He cried and years of pain and bottled emotion were ripped along with the rapid of his tears. As all the hurt poured out of him, he felt himself being cleansed and that was just one more thing he would never be able to thank Piper for. With that thought, the tears came swifter still."
After this event, Danny goes back to the remaining four boys and they make a decision to get revenge on Max Fowler and his gang. They wait till the gang goes back to their hangout (a bar maybe). then they bar the doors and toss Molotov cocktails through the windows. The boys watch as the gang and Max Fowler is burned alive.
"Through five sets of eyes, the flames danced and twirled. It was hard to know what each boy felt, as they watched the fire consume their revenge. All that was certain was that, as the flames died and they turned their eyes away, they found each other. While they would never say what the other meant to them, they would always know that they didn't have to be alone anymore. It was the last gift Piper had given to them. The gift of a father's love, silent and cool but stronger and more lasting than any other bond."
All material copyrighted @zachary nesbit
Piper was placed in an orphanage after being abandoned by his mother. He is a man of great size which leads another boy in the orphanage, Max Fowler, to use Piper to his advantage. Max is the only one to take an interest in Piper and Piper quickly develops a fierce loyalty to him. Max is older than Piper and essentially Piper comes to view him as an older brother or even a father figure. Piper finally leaves the orphanage with Max (does Max adopt him?) and they get involved with gang crime. Piper becomes Max's muscle within the gang, though it goes against his nature. Piper does not love violence but is scared that, without Max, he will be alone again. It is a son trying to please his father relationship.
Piper's main redeeming quality is his affinity to children and especially orphans. He begins to take in children with no home and by the time the novel begins he has taken in 6-7 children (all boys). He tries to be the best roll model he can to the children but, since he is not intelligent, he worries about whether he is a good influence or not. He does, however, love the children with a silent love that is not spoken but felt deeply by most of the children.
Max Fowler - Piper's child hood friend and father figure: Max Fowler is the polar opposite of Piper. Max is a small, slim man with a clever intellect. He is the primary villain in the novel. He takes advantage of Piper's obvious devotion and uses Piper as a tool of violence. Max, like Piper, was abandoned but instead of seeking out relationships to fill the scars he closes himself off to other people. Max's abandonment causes him to resent anyone trying to care deeply about other people. Piper's "collection" of children is disgusting to Max. Piper, too, is seen as an agitating existence. Piper's open need for family and affection is sickening to Max but he tolerates it because Piper is a good tool.
When he left the orphanage, Max joined up with a local gang and through deceit and cunning was able to seize his position at the top. He enjoys power because it gives him the satisfaction of abandoning others. At the turning point in the novel, Max abandons Piper and this gives Max a feeling of ecstasy.
Danny - The most recent addition to Piper's family. Danny is in the middle, by age, compared to the other boys.
Danny's mother is a prostitute and addict. She would lock Danny in a closet while she was getting high or having sex with clients. She would often pass out without remembering to let Danny out (or not caring enough to) and he would spend almost 24 hours locked away. This severe isolation would be torturous to a young mind. Danny's trauma forces his mind to put up barriers which are represented in the novel as closet doors. When the abuse first begins Danny screams and cries when his mom shuts him in the closet but as his mental defenses build up he becomes quiet and reserved. He obeys his mother with a complete lack of emotion, like a prisoner.
Living with Piper, Danny is slowly being lead down the path towards accepting relationships again. At the turning point of the novel Danny, secretly, witnesses Piper being forced to kill the two oldest boys. Max Fowler has given these two boys work dealing drugs behind Piper's back (Piper allows the boys to do errands for the gang but nothing specifically illegal). The boys botch a deal and Max Fowler gives Piper the option of killing them or being killed himself. Piper is unable to shoot them but Max does anyway. Piper tries to attack Max and Max silently guns him down. Witnessing this causes Danny, who has just begun to view Piper as his father, to feel the strongest feeling he has felt since his mother began locking him in the closet.
"All the emotion that had been locked away behind those shuttered doors came roaring through Danny's mind. Since the day those doors appeared, he had shut everything behind them. Not wanting to feel, he had peeked at the world through the cracks and had thought himself safe behind his flimsy barrier. Now, as he looked at the body of the man who had saved him from his carceral lifestyle and a man who was as close to a father as Danny would ever have, he felt the closet doors swell and then splinter under the torrent of sadness and rage that poured out of him.
Danny cried. He cried for the man who was his savior, who had loved him like a son. He cried and years of pain and bottled emotion were ripped along with the rapid of his tears. As all the hurt poured out of him, he felt himself being cleansed and that was just one more thing he would never be able to thank Piper for. With that thought, the tears came swifter still."
After this event, Danny goes back to the remaining four boys and they make a decision to get revenge on Max Fowler and his gang. They wait till the gang goes back to their hangout (a bar maybe). then they bar the doors and toss Molotov cocktails through the windows. The boys watch as the gang and Max Fowler is burned alive.
"Through five sets of eyes, the flames danced and twirled. It was hard to know what each boy felt, as they watched the fire consume their revenge. All that was certain was that, as the flames died and they turned their eyes away, they found each other. While they would never say what the other meant to them, they would always know that they didn't have to be alone anymore. It was the last gift Piper had given to them. The gift of a father's love, silent and cool but stronger and more lasting than any other bond."
All material copyrighted @zachary nesbit
What Dreams May Come
I've always admired good story telling. I'm the type of guy who can tear up in the middle of a good novel and weep openly at the end of Braveheart ("FREEDOM!!!"). That's why the idea of becoming an author has always appealed to me. The only problem was I never knew what to write about. That is, until I started writing down my dreams. I have some of the most complex and emotionally stirring dreams of any of my friends and family. When I say complex, I mean dreams that exam the class structure on futuristic earths that are close to apocalyptic catastrophe.
The first dream I recorded, and the one that I hope will be my first book, will be called Unto Me. It's a story of abandonment and the search for new relationships in a world void of a mother's warmth.
The first dream I recorded, and the one that I hope will be my first book, will be called Unto Me. It's a story of abandonment and the search for new relationships in a world void of a mother's warmth.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Blog Introduction
My name is Zachary Nesbit. I'm going to try my hand at novel writing. This may be an egotistical endeavor, but I think I have some excellent ideas and want to get them on paper. Look for plot and character synopsis to come.
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