The Anatomy of a New Story

One of my major motivations to write is to respond to the needs of my patients to have a story created for them and their problems.

This week I was asked to create a story for a very interesting, complex and delicate situation.

My patient, (who I will call Bob), has a wife, Sybil, a bother-in-law, Ken and his wife we shall name, Alice.

According to Bob, Alice has a sever drinking problem, according to everyone else, she just - 'likes a tipple, from time to time'.

Ken does make the odd remark that maybe she should drink less, but he still returns home, every evening with two bottles of wine, because, otherwise, she suffers too much from her various aches and pains, (untreatable by every doctor that she has consulted so far).

Last week, Alice fell down, (again), banged her head and ended up in hospital. Ken felt that she was not being treated with enough care and he promptly brought her back home again, only stopping long enough, on the way home, to pick up - a couple of bottles of wine.

My patient is concerned, he likes his in-laws but no-one will listen to his point of view that Ken is not helping the situation, and is even, indirectly putting Alice's life in danger -
Can I help?

Firstly, I explain that Ken is likely to be what I call, 'co-dependant', in that he needs Alice to depend on him, so that he can feel good about himself, but all he is likely to see is that, if she suffers, he will feel sad and guilty.

If I write a story, might they be able to see their functioning and do something about it?

I promise to try.

So, this is my challenge; I need to write a story that clearly shows the unhealthy functioning of a co-dependant' relationship, it needs to be symbolic, none threatening, informative, positive and, if possible, (always) amusing.

Now, where do I start the creative process? What do we have?
- A couple that love each other.
- A partner that likes, needs to give
- A partner that has dependant characteristics
- A partner named Ken

Flash of inspiration, if the husband is called Ken, that might help the couple relate to the story, but if it is too close to reality, they will take distance and reject it.

But .... what if this Ken was married to ... Barbie?

And what if Barbie's problem was that Ken kept offering her Champagne and Chocolates, (Candies) and flowers?
Couldn't that end up with a fat, alcoholic, asthmatic Barbie?

Okay, now we are rolling, but how to pass the message that this 'soft love' is destructive?

Well, the hospital visit, of course.

Now, as to the writing; how do we begin the story, introduce the characters, add drama, humour and suspense?

We start with the ambulance arriving at the emergencies; we do not know who is in the ambulance, we do not know what the problem is.

We allow the hospital staff to speculate as to the identity of the patient, as she is hauled out of the van onto a heavily fortified stretcher by several auxiliaries. (The hospital staff are all animals - Enid Blyton meets Barbie).

Is it a dancing hippo with a damaged tendon? An acrobatic elephant with a twisted trunk, but no, just an obese Barbie.

Dr. Sly, (a foxy fox), remarks that she
is showing signs of liver distress, early diabetes and asthmatic breathing difficulties.

Of course Ken will appear with champagne, chocolates, and flowers and the good doctor will help him to see and understand that he is 'loving her, to death'.

Exactly what situations and dialogues I and my muse will come up with, will only appear in the moment of writing. And the ending will also have to have some twist or kick in it.

This is an unusual story for me, in that I haven't created the story backwards, already knowing how it will end, but that will make it as much a surprise for me, as for you.

Have and great day, evening,

With my kindest regards

Gary

ps. I am very open to dialogue about writing etc., if you would like to post.