Writing a Short Story—Fast

So I got an email today asking me to do a 10K word paranormal story, and if I was interested, the deadline would be Sept 4th.  That's how it is in publishing at times. They either need the story yesterday, or you send something in on deadline and it sits there for months.  So, I wrote back that I'd need a day or two to consider the offer, since I can't possibly say 'yes' until I know whether or not I've a story worth writing.
I thought it would be fun to blog this process, since it is going to take place over only three weeks.  It's not how I craft every story, but when I need something fast, this is how my brain works.

I already know I'm not setting the story in my Beautiful Creatures world, and also wanted to do a 'creature' I hadn't done before, but nothing too wild or out there.  But also, vamps and weres I do so much, so something a little different.

First things first.  Hero and Heroine.  Who are they?  What do they look like?  What do they want?  I'm very visual, and always have pics of my heroes/heroines/ when writing so I start by gathering pictures of people that appeal to me.  I went immediately to my Pinterest boards and scanned the 'likes' I'd clicked on over the months and found these pics that called to me.

While I was picture hunting I decided I wanted to do a reaper as a hero.  Reaper of what?  Heck if I know.  Just sounds cool, doesn't it?  And I don't want him to be the classic scythe-wielding kind of reaper, nor should he resemble my soul bringers, but perhaps similar.  I just know the hero is a reaper, and I'll figure what his job entails as I go.
And the heroine?  Well, witch came immediately to mind, so I'm going with that.  And that's when the title came to me: THE REAPER'S HEART.  Interesting, but what does it mean?  I'm not sure!  Does he have a heart?  Will he lose it?  Does she want it?  Yes, I think she wants his heart.
Okay, so the wheels are spinning, I've got the above pics on my desktop, and now to figure the basics.  GMC.  I type out Hero and add G, M, C, below that, and Heroine, along with G, M, C.  At this point, I'm feeling the urge to have names to go with the faces.  But which faces?  The chick with the whip above is immediately tossed.  She just doesn't fit the 'witch' feel of this story.  And the bottom pic is similar to one up top, but something about him doesn't work either, so he's out of here.  
For names, I have my handy-dandy notebook where I scribble interesting names from time to time.  I refer to it now and know that Ananda for the heroine will work.  And I kind of like Vash for the hero, but wonder where I got the name or heard it.  I check it out online, and it's actually the name of a Star Trek character.  Bummer.  I really like Vash.  So I'll change it a bit.  How about Vashon?  I'll start with that; I can always change it later.
So I've got names, and by now I've decided on those top four photos.  I love the eyes of the woman standing in the snow, and the pic of that gorgeous dress from behind, while running through the snow appeals as well.  Will the story be set in snow?  Maybe.  I need a running in the fabulous dress scene, yes?  ;-)  And there's just something about that man with the arm armor standing against the column.  Contemplative, yet he wants something, is thinking about how he can get it.  What does he want?  I think he needs the heroine's soul for something.  He does reap souls, after all.  Okay, scribble that down for his GMC.  And that pic with the wings.  Does my hero have wings?  Maybe, not sure.  I like wings.  We'll see if they show up while writing.
And back to my GMC list.  What is the heroine's goal?  Well, if I'm going with that title, I think she needs the hero's heart.  I don't know what for, but it sounds good.  Write that down for Goal.  Motivation?  She needs the heart because....I got nothing.  Move on to Conflict.  Hero doesn't want to give her his heart.  Well, duh.  
Now on to the Hero's Goal.  He needs the witch's soul, and it's...rare.  Yeah, that's the ticket, and with such a rare soul he get's what?  What's his motivation?  Maybe his heart is solid and doesn't beat.  He's never felt love before but wants to.  With the heroine's soul his heart will become real and he can know love.  Darn, that sounds awesome.
So I tweak on the GMC a bit.  Of course, all while I'm doing this, I'm getting up, walking away from the computer, going outside, talking to the cats, just trying to let my mind wander.  Play a little Pocket Frogs, make some lunch, back to the computer.  Stare it pics.  Yes, he's handsome, and she's so pretty.  I can see those two together.
So what is a Reaper exactly?  Time to figure that out.  Well, he reaps souls, obviously.  And he's part demon/angel.  Works for me.  Hey, I can change all this as I'm writing, but I just want these ideas down on the page.  As well, his heart is adamant metal (some kind of supernatural metal, right?).  He's never known love, but knows what it is because....hmm...his mother was mortal?  That could work.  His job is endless reaping and he wants to know love, so he seeks the rare...white witch.  White witch?  Where did that come from?  I don't know, but again, it works.  Sounds cool.  I'll figure out what a white witch is eventually.  I also figure a reaper can hand his heart over to someone without dying (good for the witch) but he doesn't want to because then he can't know love.
Ok, so what is a white witch?  Well, if she's rare then maybe there's only one born once a century.  And...she doesn't have a heart?  Not sure how that'll work.  How does she stay alive?  Hmm...  She must claim other's hearts to wear as her own.  Interesting.  Every time she claims a new heart she grows stronger with love and their passion, but it is unrequited.  Oh, yeah, I like this!  She has never known real love and, gives up on ever having it.  So she decides to collect the one heart that will last forever, and does not beat, so she won't ever have those emotions again.Whew!
That's what I got after a few hours of thought this afternoon.I also scribbled at the bottom of the page, thinking this is only 10K words, so I need only a few major scenes and this is what I need to accomplish:  Meet/Attraction, Fight, Love, Dark Moment, Resolve.
Now, do you think I start plotting right away?  Nope.  I set it aside and let it brew a bit.  The real work comes tonight.  That's right.  I do my best plotting while falling asleep.  Sort of guided dreaming.  So I can't wait to get to these two later and see what happens.  With a the few sketchy details I've formed of them, something should come of it.  Either that, or I'll fall asleep and start snoring. 
Stay tuned.  I hope to blog every day or other day on my progress and how this all comes together.