Okay, you drive - Part II

So I was stuck on a scene for some reason, it was driving me crazy. I initially had Zane find out about a certain object on eBay (the object Zoë will later search for at Odil's place.) But I couldn't make the scene, in which Zane is telling Zoë about the object, work. I thought maybe it was because I couldn't visualize the 'object'. In fact didn't know what 'it' was. :-P. So I started searching the web for antiquities, etc. While I'm doing the search another part of my brain is still working at the problem and asks: What if Zane didn't find out about the object on eBay? What if someone told him? Bingo! That's was it!

I knew exactly who had told him. Not only that, I now knew what the object was and it's history. It's tied to a tragedy that happened at the house Odil lives in. I hadn't planned to give the object any more significance beyond what it means to Zane and Zoë and as a plot device bringing Zoë and Odil together, and keep them interacting for awhile. And the location of Odil's home, on the edge of town, was only to emphasize his being a recluse.

This new twist could now introduce a gothic feel into the story. If Odil is living in a house with a dark history, does that mean his psychic powers allow him to hear echo's of the past? What about the object itself, does it have any powers? Are there ghosts in the house? Could I use the past tragedy to reflect or contrast Zoë and Odil's romance? Lot's of food for thought. I've already got two 'integral' subplots planned for the story, do I want this third one? Will it be too much going on? Can I pull it off?

owie. brain hurts.

It times like this that I feel it's not really about me making up the H/h's story, but more about me discovering and revealing it. Cool. Maybe that's why it's called story'telling' and not story'fabricating'.