Brainstorming Room

[Elliott]

Aaaah, Hayden, this sounds SO GOOD. And I love all of your characters; they sound so diverse and interesting and beautiful and I love them all already.

I would personally not worry too much about plot. But I've always been the kind of person who is all about characters and plot is usually an afterthought, haha. My flaw as a writer. So maybe don't listen to me. But I'd just focus on your characters and where they are at the start of the novel and where you want them to be at the end. Whether that's more comfortable with who they are, accepted into their dream college, or simply dating someone new. And the character growth or changes can totally be plots. If that makes sense.

Something that I think could be really interesting with Andrew and August is exploring August's sexuality? Like, he doesn't know if he's gay or straight or pansexual or bisexual or what. And what does it mean if he thought he was straight but then he falls in love with Andrew who is a transboy? Does that mean he's gay, etc. I'm not sure if you want to take it there, but I feel like the intersection of sexuality and gender is hardly ever explored in fiction. It's either about someone realizing they're trans or someone realizing they aren't straight, you know?

[Isaac]

Ooh, I really could explore with that. In my head I already have that all figured out, so I guess I never thought about August going through that.

I wrote a bit for Rachelle (it's in the Starting Scenes topic if you want to see it) but I'm hoping to really start working on it after I finish Picket Fences (which only has two chapters left *sniffs*).

[[deleted user]]

NEW IDEA! Not much, but it's a start:
It would be about a world overrun by weird plants that are poisonous, immune to everything, and...evil? IDK, I just wanted to see if anyone would read something with that plot! :)

[Elliott]

Hayden wrote: "Ooh, I really could explore with that. In my head I already have that all figured out, so I guess I never thought about August going through that.

I wrote a bit for Rachelle (it's in the Starting..."

Yeah, if you have a different trajectory obviously go through with that, it's just something I was thinking about when I was reading your post.

Aaah, I need to get caught up on Picket Fences. Summer happened and I got way behind.

[Elliott]

Raevyn wrote: "NEW IDEA! Not much, but it's a start:
It would be about a world overrun by weird plants that are poisonous, immune to everything, and...evil? IDK, I just wanted to see if anyone would read somethin..."

I'll read almost anything if the characters are awesome!

[Isaac]

Raevyn wrote: "NEW IDEA! Not much, but it's a start:
It would be about a world overrun by weird plants that are poisonous, immune to everything, and...evil? IDK, I just wanted to see if anyone would read somethin..."

Well, I guess I'd like to hear more about the plot. It's a bit vague right now.

[Catelyn]

For three years I had been stuck there, my judgement of the world clouded, no source of reference of what was going on outside of me. For three years I have been walking down the same roads, the same streets, trying to leave, trying to escape. However hard I tried, I always ended up at the same spot. The phone booth. It sits on the corner, rusted, worn down and beaten. I’ve tried using it when I first got there, over and over dialing random numbers, trying to get a hold of someone, anyone. But the phone never rang. I gave up after a while, hoping someone would find me. I spent too long crying and screaming wondering why I was here, why I couldn't remember anything, or anyone. I did not recognize the streets or buildings, I walked them blindly. All I knew of them was what I had learned over the last three years. I have read more books than I ever imagined, studied more subjects that I would ever need to, and watched so many movies, over and over again, I could recite them verbatim. I have ran more miles than I ever thought I would care to. Every day was the same, cloudy, rainy, the sun barely visible. Each day like the one before. A never ending cycle, replica, clone, for three years. Until one day, it wasn’t.

~~~Please comment, rate, and submit thoughts and ideas :) use @catelynstephens to let me know what you are referring to.

[Allison]

whhoooaaa that sounds epic.

[Dana]

The Snowflake method scares me. XD But that's just me, I'm sure it's very helpful for the detailed/organized/meticulous.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I have tried the Snowflake Method before and it really didn't work for me. By the end you essentially have a scene-by-scene outline of the entire book, which leaves little room for flexibility and surprises. If you enjoy having a very detailed and rigid outline then it may work, but personally I felt it gets a little too detailed. I found the first couple of steps (just the general outline/summaries and whatnot) kind of helpful, though.

[[deleted user]]

I'm compiling a list of character traits, disabilities, nationalities, etc. etc. etc. that are underrepresented in fiction.


What do you want to see more of? And how do I write these kinds of traits without stereotyping the character?

[Isaac]

Anyone that isn't white (particularly western European), male, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, neurotypical, Christian, and so on.

Minority groups are people too, and every person acts a little different, but stereotypy always ruins that. If you just write them as people, you're not likely going to offend anyone. If you try to write them according to jokes and false ideas surrounding that group of people (i.e. using racial stereotypes like the sassy black woman that gets more laughs rather than empathy for her character), or completely misunderstand a part of a character/make everyone with a certain attribute negative/never give a person with a certain trait a happy ending (i.e. the Tortured Gay Man trope), you're probably going to offend someone as well.

If you're not sure how to write someone there's a lot of resources online, and it's always good to research backgrounds you may not be familiar with.

[tesni]

Raevyn wrote: "I'm compiling a list of character traits, disabilities, nationalities, etc. etc. etc. that are underrepresented in fiction.


What do you want to see more of? And how do I write these kinds of tra..."

It's important as Emily said (everything she said is very good!) to treat characters who are minorities as people first and foremost, but at the same time I don't really have much patience any more for the idea that the...idk 'otherness' about a person doesn't matter. For instance, I know many people praised the whole thing about Dumbledore being gay because it 'wasn't an issue' or wasn't the thing that defined him, which is often a problem when people portray minorities in fiction). I understand the thinking behind it, and I think it's well-intentioned, because it does mean to say that, for instance, gay people have the same humanity as everyone else. However, the whole 'we're just like you!' thing sort of rubs me the wrong way because whether I like it or not, the fact of my own queerness (and my girl/womanhood, and the combination of the two) has had an enormous influence upon how I view the world, how it views me, and how I behave accordingly. I am not just like a straight person. So I do think, as Emily says, it pays to know what you're talking about when addressing these things. Google and books are your friends. But don't worry about it!- I think, even if you're unsure about how to portray someone who's different from you in some way, it's better to try than to have not tried at all, because if it does happen that somebody thinks you've 'got it wrong' you can certainly try and change things.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Raevyn wrote: "I'm compiling a list of character traits, disabilities, nationalities, etc. etc. etc. that are underrepresented in fiction.


What do you want to see more of? And how do I write these kinds of tra..."

Ahh that's a good question, and something I have been thinking about a lot lately since far too many of my characters are straight/white/able-bodied/etc. o_o

Hayden and Tesni both make excellent points and I agree with their comments.

I think it's important to avoid offensive stereotypes and tropes like the plague––and there are so many ingrained into us that you might not even realize their implications. There's a very helpful and extensive list of such tropes here, which I highly recommend reading.

[Dana]

Tesni wrote: "Raevyn wrote: "I'm compiling a list of character traits, disabilities, nationalities, etc. etc. etc. that are underrepresented in fiction.


What do you want to see more of? And how do I write the..."

Tesni - thanks for writing message 286 - it has been something I've been thinking about lately & weighing in my mind and it all seems very confusing to me but I'm really glad you wrote it because it helped to sort out my thoughts on the matter.

((Sorry for butting in - that doesn't really have any relevance to Raevyn's post!! Sorry about that.))

[Isaac]

Tesni wrote: "Raevyn wrote: "I'm compiling a list of character traits, disabilities, nationalities, etc. etc. etc. that are underrepresented in fiction.


What do you want to see more of? And how do I write the..."

Thank you for expanding on my comment. I was going to get into that but I didn't because I didn't want to overload my answer, and things like that get into such a complex school of thought. Springing on the whole conversation of pretending like being a minority isn't an issue and the implications that discrimination directed towards them is thus not real or valid because it doesn't really matter that they're x is something we could go on about for hours.

[Isaac]

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Tesni wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "Hayden wrote: "Anyone that isn't white (particularly western European), male, straight, cisgender, able-bodied, neurotypical, Christian, and so on.

Minority..."

What I was meaning by my post was that if a character isn't religious, there is often enough a lot of Christian symbolism or imagery or some sort of Christian influence. In my poetry I use a lot of Christian allegories because I was raised in the Christian church although I don't indentify with it anymore, and so are a lot of others, so regardless of their personal beliefs Christianity is a looming presence in many things while other religions are ignored or villainized. So when I say don't write about characters that are Christian, I'm meaning I want to see more characters who aren't influenced by that, and I want to see alternative points of view - because chances are if you live in a western country, Christianity is a very large and prominent part of it, and constantly hearing the same narrative is limiting, just like it is to constantly hear it from white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, and so on perspectives.

[Anastasia]

I saw Hayden's and Raevyn's posts on here earlier, and I hope it's not too late to share my own opinion about what's currently being discussed.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel as though religion itself is being jettisoned in modern-day literature. Perhaps I'm reading the wrong books, but I've found that many characters are not remotely religious in many recently-published YA novels. Finding a character who is a faithful member of any religion is rare, whether it be someone who's Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Christian (not to mention other religions, as well).

My issue with this is not so much that I'm a Christian, but that, for many people, religion is such an integral part of life, and I don't believe that aspect of people is properly depicted in books right now, especially YA novels. BookTuber Ariel Bisset said something similar in this video. I think she makes some great points on this subject. (Mild language warning, though, just as a precaution.)

(view spoiler)[I agree with what Tesni said about Christianity affecting a society's culture as a whole due to how long it's been around, regardless of whether or not it is explicitly stated in that society's/country's art/literature. You can engage yourself with various types of art without even knowing the religion of its creator. However, I've seen at least several stories where a religious person is stereotyped to be the dependent fool of the bunch just because they believe in/choose to rely on a higher power. (hide spoiler)]

Personally, I'd love to see books where any type of religion features majorly as a positive influence in the characters' lives. I believe that perspective would be very refreshing. It's something I'm definitely trying to incorporate into my novels. (view spoiler)[(Although, granted, I am Orthodox Christian, and so several of my current novels/story ideas feature Christianity as an aspect of the story. However, given that Orthodox Christianity is a more "eastern" form of Christianity [and only makes up roughly 5-6% of the population in the USA], I believe it's still a fresh perspective.) (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Thanks, everyone. You helped quite a lot--my list went from three traits to eleven since I asked that question. :)

[Dana]

@Anastasia - just curious, but would you consider a YA book that featured a protagonist who believes in a 'higher power' or deity, but not necessarily any organized religion that currently exists (ex: not Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism..) religious?

[Anastasia]

Dana \\i believe in the sky// wrote: "@Anastasia - just curious, but would you consider a YA book that featured a protagonist who believes in a 'higher power' or deity, but not necessarily any organized religion that currently exists (..."

Hi, Dana! Sorry I didn't reply to this sooner; I was trying to figure out what, exactly, I wanted to say, which took me longer than I'd hoped it would.

I'd probably classify what you're describing more under spirituality than religion. I'd say that being religious is belief in a higher power and affiliation with an organized religion, while being spiritual is just belief in a higher power. I think spirituality can be found in religion, but that the two are not synonymous.

(view spoiler)[The latter, I believe, tends to be villainized because it's made up of a group of people instead of individuals, and even judging a small portion of that group will give another individual an opinion about one religion that may not be completely accurate. (hide spoiler)]

I'd be interested to read a book with a "spiritual" protagonist as long as his/her belief is developed more than just a throwaway line on one page. My opinion about spirituality and/or religion in books is that they should be elaborated on more if they're going to be mentioned at all. I think both are important concepts we should see more of in literature.

[Isaac]

This is an interesting brainstorming problem as it's more of how to get out of a story rather than into a story.

I am still head over heels with Ben and Joshua and I so want to keep writing them but I have run into a problem: there is honestly no story I could continue on rather than them trying to date in a homophobic society. The original story was set in 1958-1959, so they'd be going into the 60s, which does offer some interesting scenarios, but none really seem to fit because they're in college until 1963, and then after that they're out and adults. If I bumped the original story a bit under a decade later I could have fun with the Vietnam War, but I like it set where it is and I don't really want to redraft the whole thing to be set in the mid 60s vs the late 50s.

So a sequel isn't really in order or anything, but dang, I just really like those characters. How do I move on from them? Or if I could write a sequel... what could I write about?

[Elliott]

I would love to give you advice about how to move on but I can't seem to write about anything other than my darling Will, so I can't help you there, haha.

But hmmm. I think you could actually have a lot of fun with them in the 60s going to college and getting involved in queer subculture? Like, yeah, society was still pretty homophobic but the sixties was a really rad time for community and people coming together and being open with their sexualities (in the small, safer groups) and making art and helping each other. And I feel like that could be pretty cool, if you're into that sort of thing. I love college stories, though.

[Isaac]

Alicia (Lav) wrote: "I would love to give you advice about how to move on but I can't seem to write about anything other than my darling Will, so I can't help you there, haha.

But hmmm. I think you could actually hav..."

That does sound rad because I have thought about them getting involved with that life, but I just don't know how to research that? I hang around on the fringes of the queer community and learn from whoever I'm following, but I'm not really active in learning about the history so I'm sorta ??? about where to begin and my attention span is so awful when it comes to reading long things.

I think a story about Joshua trying to accept that he's gay and it's a part of who he is while he's totally head over heels for this guy who already seems strangely accepting of it and fitting in with other groups of gay men would be interesting, I just... reading and my attention span, oh no. Although right now I think the idea of reading is significantly worsened by the fact I'm suffering a migraine and typing this with one eye closed has been difficult enough.

[Elliott]

Aaah, yeah, it would be quite a bit of work. Stories with research involved are definitely more difficult in some ways.(I'm kind of trying to develop a story set around the time of the Stonewall Riots right now and it's hardddd.) And yeah, I can see where that would make it worse, I'm sorry you have a migraine. D:

It's just something to think about! Obviously if you don't want to do a ton of reading and feel like you would need to, then nah.

[Isaac]

Alicia (Lav) wrote: "Aaah, yeah, it would be quite a bit of work. Stories with research involved are definitely more difficult in some ways.(I'm kind of trying to develop a story set around the time of the Stonewall Ri..."

I'm just *frustrated snort* right now. I love them too much.

[Elliott]

I feel that. There are some characters that are just too important.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Ahhhh I would love if you wrote more about Ben and Joshua, Hayden! I think it'd be really interesting. And I love them so yeah, it would be great. :D But I feel you, doing research is hard––it can be overwhelming, because there's so much information. And yet it's often hard to find the exact information you're looking for. :P

[Isaac]

I'm just a bit confused as to what I can do with the plot that wouldn't be similar to the first one. I just don't want to be too boring, but at the same time, if everyone just really likes Joshua and Ben, maybe I could just continue on that whole "Joshua is growing as a person" thing, but how do I make that a full length novel again?

I'm just a bit :s about the whole thing.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Hmm yeah, I get what you're saying. Maybe just let it sit for a while and think about it, and hopefully you'll start to get more ideas for a plot?

[Gemma]

Hello everyone!

1So recently, I've been trying to write a fantasy story set in a place where the land is ravaged by creatures from another world. The main character is a fighter who works for the royal family; sworn to protect them. Her father is dead. And he was the one who taught her self defense and how to fight. Due to her talents, the King learns of her. She is an only child who was brought at a young age to continue learning to fight for the royals. However, this is where my storyline for her ends. I can't think of any other ideas.
I would be more than grateful if someone can help further this writers block. Thanks!

[Anastasia]

Hayden wrote: "I'm just a bit confused as to what I can do with the plot that wouldn't be similar to the first one. I just don't want to be too boring, but at the same time, if everyone just really likes Joshua ..."

I'm in your boat, Hayden. Part of me wants to write a sequel for one of my novels because I'm still in love with the characters, but I don't actually have a plot to go off of.

If writing a sequel (of sorts) is something you'd really like to do, I'd say the same thing Brigid did: let the characters sit for a while until more ideas come to you. Perhaps write some scenes with Joshua and Ben based on writing prompts. Who knows? Maybe one of them could inspire a new story idea. ;)

Either way, I hope you find something to work with. There's almost nothing more frustrating than an idea drought.

[Anastasia]

Gemma wrote: "Hello everyone!

1So recently, I've been trying to write a fantasy story set in a place where the land is ravaged by creatures from another world. The main character is a fighter who works for the..."

I think it would be beneficial to ask yourself a few questions regarding the story idea. Maybe they'll help you develop a plot line.

1. What does the character want? Find a goal for your character that readers can empathize with. It could be anything, so long as stakes can be set.
2. How does she go about getting it? The way your MC approaches achieving her goal can set the pace and mood of the story. Remember that this goal needs to be something she will do almost anything to get; the real fun comes in seeing just how much she will do before she breaks. I promise I'm not as demented as I sound in this post. I promise.

And, finally:

3. What conflict arises as a result of your MC's goal? Once you find the goal, you can also find ways to distract/prevent the protagonist from reaching her goal. Maybe someone else wants what she does and is willing to fight her over it--like her job, position, or abilities. The possibilities here are endless and entirely yours to work with.

I know that's really vague, but I hope it helps. All the best to you on developing your idea; from what little I know, it sounds super cool. :)

[Isaac]

Anastasia wrote: "Hayden wrote: "I'm just a bit confused as to what I can do with the plot that wouldn't be similar to the first one. I just don't want to be too boring, but at the same time, if everyone just reall..."

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Hmm yeah, I get what you're saying. Maybe just let it sit for a while and think about it, and hopefully you'll start to get more ideas for a plot?"

I'm sort of digging the idea that now that Joshua has been away from Ben, he's sort of like, maybe it was a one-time thing and I can have a wife and kids now, so he's really struggling when Ben re-enters his life because he's trying to get away with that but he has these really strong feelings for boys?? I don't know. I feel like that's too strong of a theme in LGBTQ+ fiction but I want to give Josh a happy ending.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Hayden wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "Hayden wrote: "I'm just a bit confused as to what I can do with the plot that wouldn't be similar to the first one. I just don't want to be too boring, but at the same time, if ..."

ooh yes, I could see something like that being very interesting!

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Gemma wrote: "Hello everyone!

1So recently, I've been trying to write a fantasy story set in a place where the land is ravaged by creatures from another world. The main character is a fighter who works for the..."

I really like that premise! Anastasia gave very good advice; I think what the story needs is some kind of central conflict. When developing an idea, it's important to consider the stakes for your character––what does she want, what's preventing her from getting it, and what's the important thing she will lose if she doesn't get it?

I think there's a lot to explore in this idea:

- Is she the only one fighting these creatures? Are there other people like her?
- Could there be people in the royal family (or other creature-hunters) who are traitors or are trying to stop her for some reason?
- Does she discover anything about the creatures or the world they came from that changes things? Were the creatures unleashed on them on purpose or something?

I think as you start brainstorming about the details more of a plot/conflict will start to emerge. :)

[Azaria]

What if, when you reached a certain age, scientists could make you be born again?

[Azaria]

Or what about:

Imagine a world where the government forces you to label yourself, your label is your name, and you can only live with people who have the same label as you, you may be ignorant, a dyke, black, etcetera. The only ones free to be who they are without shame, are the elite. They are wealthy, snobby, and they control themselves. Suicide rates are high in the labeled villages. But that's okay, because the elite and government want to cleanse the world of all scum (the ones labeled). Now imagine what would happen if, the labeled began to fight back? MC, the antagonist, knows, she is an elite, and she wants to kill all who stand in her way of a pure world, this is her story, come watch it.

I think I'm going to write a TV pilot spec script (screenplay) for this. Let me know what you think.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Azaria wrote: "Or what about:

Imagine a world where the government forces you to label yourself, your label is your name, and you can only live with people who have the same label as you, you may be ignorant, a ..."

First of all, be careful about using slurs like that––I know in this case it's probably to show how corrupt this fictional society is, but it can still offend a lot of people.

Secondly, I feel like this needs a bit more detail to make it original. Right now it sounds like a lot of other dystopian books I've read––where everyone is divided into classes, and the lower class rebels.

But I do like the idea of the main character being one of the elite ones, since usually the protagonist is in the lower/oppressed class and it would be interesting to see it from the other side. I also think you could use the idea to tackle a lot of real-world issues. I would recommend you keep fleshing out the world, characters, and plot and it could be very interesting!

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Yeah, that's also an excellent point. It might make the most sense if the character is kind of ignorant of how privileged she is (since that is often the case in real life), and then maybe something happens that makes her more aware of her privilege. Also when confronting big real-world issues there's always the risk of coming off as preachy, so I would advise keeping that in mind as well!

[Mindy]

You might be able to do a lot of character development with that...it's nice when characters make a huge change, she could start out as obnoxious.

[Isaac]

I think what you said goes hand-in-hand with what Brigid's saying. Becoming more aware of social injustices really bettered me as a person and I feel like a better person because of it. So definitely that would be something to hit on.

[Isaac]

Okay question time.

That one novel I was going to write on trans kids just never came together and I felt horrible because I do want to write it, I just don't have a story. However, I feel like I was trying too hard and that instead of trying to write the story I feel like I should write to be different or whatever I should write something that I know I'll be interested in.

In that case, I decided that I'll try writing something that hits closer to home for me, or just something that I know I'll be more interested in, and in that case, I want to write something about a trans character, but probably more semi-autobiographical. I was thinking that maybe I could write a verse novel too but I don't know if that would be a good idea or not.

The story would be about a gay trans kid struggling to come to terms with his identity but I don't know if that's been done to death or not. It's going to be semi-autobiographical, like I said, so it's not like another cishet person looking for praise. It'll be my own perspective. Would anyone be interested in something like that?

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I would love to read something like that, Hayden! Gay trans people are super under-represented, and I think it's important that your voice is heard. I say go for it. :)

[Mary]

One of the things I've learned is one must write the story you have to tell. By that I mean some topics have been assigned to you by the universe. I think there would be an audience for this story, but I would be sure it is yours to tell, then completely devote yourself to the telling of it.

[tesni]

Hayden wrote: "Okay question time.

That one novel I was going to write on trans kids just never came together and I felt horrible because I do want to write it, I just don't have a story. However, I feel like I..."

Don't feel bad about not having written it! Writing what's most natural is always the most enjoyable, and you never know, you might want to write it in the future. Better to not write it but just keep the idea than to start writing it but just end up miserable and frustrated because you're not really feeling it.

I'd read it, certainly, and I'd be especially interested to see what you'd do with a verse novel. I used to write them (you'll probably remember! God, that was such a long time ago) and it was a lot of fun, but I think that's because I was, aged thirteen or fourteen, a lot less concerned with form than I am now - these days I don't think I would try it simply because I've probably just become more traditional (i.e. boring) in my tastes and I wouldn't trust myself to write anything that would be the kind of poetry I wanted it to be, but I still love reading them when they're well written. As to the subject matter, I think we can always do with more of those kinds of stories, especially authentic voices such as yours as opposed to the 'I'm cashing in on the advancement of legal representation of the marginalised' kinds of voices.

[Isaac]

Tesni wrote: "Hayden wrote: "Okay question time.

That one novel I was going to write on trans kids just never came together and I felt horrible because I do want to write it, I just don't have a story. However..."

Ah yes I remember those stories!! I liked those very much. I think I might just give it a go :o)

[Samantha]

I've had this idea for a while, but I've decided to attempt to turn it into a short story project to kick off the New Year. I have the general idea, but I'm having trouble nailing down some specifics that I need to construct the story.

I'm thinking of a YA short story with a young girl who develops feelings for a mummy. She is the daughter of a museum curator and theres an exhibit on Egypt in the museum. Its her favorite exhibit and she always sits in it to get away from things.

What I don't know is how the mummy comes to life or why he does. He's supposed to have been a young nobleman who died before marriage or his prime in his past life. They won't be together ultimately, because he is dead and all and will have to return to death, but they will have a moment that will change her way of seeing life.

[Isaac]

Whoa that's something I've never heard of before. How interesting. At first I thought you meant just the actual body and I was like uhhhh but no okay the spirit is much better.

Since it's a bit supernatural, I don't think it'd matter too much with whatever you'd come up with since there's really no rules for how you can talk to the dead. I know the idea that she has some ability seems overused, but it would have to either be that or some object nearby or that she possessed that allows her to talk to him.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Haha as Hayden said, at first I thought you meant she was in love with the dead body. :D Wait so, does his physical body return to life or is he some kind of ghost?

I like Hayden's suggestion that your protagonist could have some kind of supernatural ability ... As he said, it's a little clichéd but you could definitely put your own twist on it. For example, I think it might be cool if she could see spirits/ghosts as someone who spends so much time in a museum. (Think of how many haunted objects there would be!) So that could be a reason why she can see the mummy's ghost.