Details, details

[lari]

My partner in crime, Purple, and I are currently planning on starting a story that takes place in a mental hospital. The doctors of this story strongly advise their patients to keep a diary of some sort, but some refuse. Those who refuse get a wireless keyboard, which is supposedly not connected to any computer, where they can type whatever the heck they want to get out their emotions and relieve anger.

Naturally, the keyboards actually do send whatever is being typed to a Word document on one of the computers in one of the labs so the doctors can snoop on what the patients are thinking and invade their privacy.

One of the characters that receives a keyboard is Lane. She lived with her aunt most of her years, and was in an orphanage for a short time after her aunt got landed in jail and before she was taken to the mental hospital. No one really knows what happened, as she won't admit to the past. She has a mild case of depression and abandonment issues. Also, that filter in your head that tells you to stop something because it's too dangerous or stupid? She doesn't have that. An example: if someone would suggest jumping off a bridge, she wouldn't think 'I'd probably end up dead,' but 'that sounds like fun!'

Then there's Edge. He's in the mental hospital because of his addiction to alcohol. That filter that Lane doesn't have? He doesn't have it either, but in different ways from Lane. He doesn't care that the alcohol is killing his organs or that the words he's saying to that suicidal person just made them even more depressed. Also Edge has an attitude. Also, Edge would probably know the keyboard is recording what he types ("I'm not stupid. The light in the top corner is flashing for a reason") but he'd still do it just to spite the doctors. [Information about Edge may change or be added, as this character is dictated by Purple, and this is mostly written by assumption. As this isn't a role play, we both can control the characters in our chapter, but Edge is still her baby, not mine.]

So we have the two main characters and the setting, but there's one thing we're missing. A plot. Sure, something like a plot is only a small, minor detail, but we'd like your help. Do you have any ideas? Scenes that happen between the two characters? Other people that affect the characters lives throughout the story (the hospital has more than a population of 2)? Drama (the story has to go somewhere, ya know)? So... comment away.

[Kinalara]

Hmm...maybe there's a conspiracy-- and patients are getting MURDERED! *Jazz hands*

....But really, I'll keep it in mind. I have a tough time with plot too. I can get characters no problem, and get mini-plots later on. But there's no point if there's no main plot.
I'll think on it.

[Purple]

Hmm, I can think of random scenes--like I think it'd be super fun if they tried to break out one day XD--but for a main plot I don't have much. Though I think we should have them be released in the end sometime.

[Purple]

So, Lari and I had a mad plotting session last night, and we now have a basic structure, so here it is. We would still love help developing it and the characters involved (doctors, other patients, etc.) so keep thinking!

Plot: Lane and Edge slowly become friends and then eventually something more and help each other work through their issues and eventually are released from the hospital. There's also a little drama going on because one of the doctors is being horrible to the patients and hitting them, so when Edge and Lane get released they start telling people about it and that leads to the doctor getting fired or the hospital being reformed or something.

That's the bare bones of it, but we've also got ideas for a few scenes, like when they try to break out, when Lane discovers that the keyboards are actually linked to something, and when the evil doctor hits Edge and he attacks him, then finds out the doctor's been hitting Lane too and wants to attack him again.

We've also decided that we're going to alternate between the journals and third person so that we can show exact conversations and then tell about what happens after they're released. The journals will be mostly just to show their feelings about stuff, though perhaps not exactly since they're being read and Edge is a compulsive liar.

The first time Edge and Lane meet will be on their way to class one day (as they're leaving their rooms). Edge will say hello, maybe flirt, and then lie about where he's going and walk off, only to appear in class a few minutes later anyway. That chapter is in progress right now.

And now, some history on Edge, in case you were wondering:

He's been lying since he was a little kid, so it's not just an attitude thing, but he grew up with his dad (mom left right after having him) who was a major druggie. Edge pretty much raised himself and he was always running around with the older kids in the neighborhood getting into trouble. When he was about nine his dad started getting his act together. He got help with his drug problem, got a job, all that jazz. Although he got cleaned up and they even moved to a nicer neighborhood, Edge wouldn't leave his old friends, and the more respectable his dad got the less he approved of Edge. The less Dad approved, the more bitter Edge got. He would always call Edge's friends bad things and Edge, weirdly loyal, would defend them. Of course he lied to do that, but that's just what he does. Edge started drinking half as a way to spite his dad and half to escape. Pretty soon though he realized that he just liked whiskey a lot, so he kept doing it. Well eventually his dad met some chick, Edge hated her, lied to his dad about her, his dad didn't believe him of course and just got pissed. The chick moved in eventually, Edge just continued to make up shit and be rude and hateful to her, especially since she was just as snooty as his dad had become and didn't approve of him either. So they went on like that, Edge drinking himself senseless, them being hateful, him being hateful back, until eventually they had some major fight and his dad kicked Edge out. Edge was plenty glad to leave and wandered around, bumming off of his friends' couches, for awhile. Soon he got arrested for public drunkenness and when his dad wouldn't claim him, DSS got custody of him and sent him to the hospital to get help with his issues.

He is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and is a compulsive/habitual liar. Both are treatable with therapy, which is why he's there.