Plot Ideas: Repetition
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It’s a comforting idea that the past can stay in the past, never to haunt us again. However, whether ours or belonging to another, the past often comes back in ways which are spooky and uncomfortable. Does anyone remember this song by Split Endz?
“History never repeats,
I tell myself before I go to sleep.
Don’t say the words you might regret,
I’ve lost before you know I can’t forget.
There was a girl I used to know,
She dealt my love a savage blow,
I was so young, too blind to see,
But anyway that’s History.”
I am focussed on the negative here, as no writer needs a ‘happy tales’ plot line. There are two aspects to history repeating I’d like to inspire you with: nature and lack of self-nurture.
Nature
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/ under Creative Commons Licence.
One of my goals for this year was to research Celtic history and write blog posts on it. Of course, the best laid plans got wildly out of control. I got hooked on “Who Do You Think You Are,” the History Channel and anything with a Celtic design attached! The one area which made me sit up and take notice, was how often people who had traced their ancestry saw their own traits in others: sometimes several generations back up the line. To scare me even further, these came completely out of nowhere! There were no family stories, or other ways these people could have known about their ancestor’s attitudes, character traits, skills or talents. They were passed down in the DNA, like it or not!
I like to be the Master and Commander of my own life. The idea that we can be unknowingly influenced by great great granddad makes me squirm. Realistically, we all have the choice on whether or not we follow along with our gut inclinations and crazy ideas, regardless of where they come from. However, I can’t help but ponder what a great plot line it is to link a dirty deed or an act of bravery to a family trait that comes to light via a serendipitous event. Sharpen your pencils! The possibilities are delightful.
Lack of Self-Nurture
If I had to add another music clip to this point, it would be “I’ve Done All the Dumb Things” by Paul Kelly. “In the middle of a dream… I’ve lost my shirt, I’ve pawned my rings, I’ve done all the dumb things! I’ve melted wax to fix my wings, I’ve done all the dumb things! …And I get all your good advice, It doesn’t stop me from going through these things twice, I see the knives out, I turn my back, I hear the train coming, I stay right on that track…”
We have all made bad choices; often, despite our better judgement, we make them more than once. Even when we know we’ve taken the wrong turn, sometimes it takes awhile before the lesson is properly absorbed into the brain, or we find the inner resources to make changes. In the meantime, we dig ourselves in deeper and deeper… and to make Split Endz’s nightmare even worse, history does indeed repeat!
Our greatest mistakes always make the best reads. Enjoy your writing journey…
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Filed under: Writing Resources Tagged: author, characterisation, DNA, fiction, history, ideas, Indie publishing, inspiration, nature vs nurture, plot, Self-nurture, Split Endz, writer, writing
