Kestrel Soars: 10 Things that didn't make it into the story (from John)

At 1pm today (so about 30 minutes from now) I'm going to shut off all the distractions of the world and immerse myself into the world of Kestrel. I love this world, I'm proud of this world, and I love talking about it.

I've been asked to describe Kestrel several times, and it wasn't until yesterday while eating a bacon cheeseburger that I found a good description -- Kestrel is my obnoxious academic side, back when I was about 17 and thought that I needed to be older and grumpier and smarter and always a big deal. And because no one wants to read page after page of the whining I used to do as a 17-year-old, I smoothed out the edges by adding in bits of other characters, mostly the great detective icons, some pulp heroes I loved and a healthy dose of all my memories from some grade school friends that I remember on the edges of my mind.

My initial plan was to produce 3 short stories, package them into one single volume and sell it. But the more I develop the individual stories, the more they stand alone...so I do hereby announce that each story will be it's own novel, and my full attention comes back to the first story.

I wanted though to spend some time sharing things that didn't make the cut, or things that were in the earliest drafts that I have no intention of using further. Bear in mind that the character is a working detective, rather well-educated and brilliant (I dislike the word "slick" as a descriptor), if that helps you consider it.

1. Kestrel was originally going to be a cat burglar or world-class jewel thief, who hires the other character (John) to act as his cover identity/alibi while he plans a heist.
2. Kestrel was going to be the son of circus performers (a high wire act).
3. Initially the entire 3 stories were going to be told in flashback, told from John's deathbed.
4. When the story was science fiction, Kestrel was a time traveler. More like Doctor Who, but from a Terminator-like dimension.
5. For about ten minutes, Kestrel was a woman, very Veronica Lake meets Indiana Jones.
6. Originally, the two main characters would speak to each other and the audience normally, using modern language, while the rest of the world spoke like it was the 1940s. There was a great line about dames and gumshoes in grocery stores.
7. The setting for the first story was originally Boston.
8. My original notes had Kestrel solving the entire murder mystery without leaving the office and then John working backwards to prove him right or wrong.
9. The book used to open with a sex scene between the possible killer and the first victim.
10. At one point, John was a struggling actor, and during an audition, Kestrel interrupted him to announce he had solved the case. 

So why do I share these things? Because I wanted to briefly show you that the story does evolve, even though a great deal of it is way beyond notes -- in fact today, I don't plan on looking at too many notes and letting it be sort of organic as I fill in some holes.

Okay, time to write. I don't track words per day, and I barely track pages anymore. I just write and where it takes me, it takes me.


Enjoy your day, keep writing.