HI Douy - you know what I'm going to say, right? The fact that your character is a window cleaner doesn't contribute at all to your story, and likewise the fairground really, as it's just a location, and could be anything. I think you need to think about what opportunities the window cleaner character gives you *because* he/she is a window cleaner.
1) Window cleaners get to look into windows, which means they often observe things or see things that others don't. This means they might become involved in different sorts of stories or end up witnessing something that begins the story. Window cleaners tend to work at height, so they have a different perspective on the world below. There's something about the 'alternate perspectives' that you should perhaps think about.
2) There's something about fairgrounds that have the character of being both happy and sinister at the same time. You've got travelling fairgrounds too, so it needn't be locked into one location. I'm thinking about the other kinds of things you might find at a fairground - like freak shows or escapologist - the sort of side-show stuff that's so atmospheric. Maybe a window cleaner applies for a job in a fairground, where they have to clean the glass of the freakshow enclosures - the 'human mermaid' tank - or maybe this is the story of a guy with big dreams of his own, who is 'only' the window cleaner in the fairground - i.e he's in charge of cleaning all the exhibits, when he wants to be someone more extraordinary:
You might be telling a story about how a lowly cleaner, who is picked on and humiliated, takes some kind of revenge - maybe, just like at actual fairgrounds and theme parks, there is a map to the attractions, like a guide, and at the end of story there is an additional attraction on the map - another sideshow - and it's the result of whatever ugly revenge the cleaner has taken - I suppose I've got both American Horror Story and Tod Browning's Freaks in my head when I'm thinking about your three components:
Personally, I can't imagine how your proposed story gives you any character or environment design excitement at all... I'd push for something more truly inventive - and like I said, it begins with giving a bit more thought to your window cleaner character...
OGR 24/01/17
ReplyDeleteHI Douy - you know what I'm going to say, right? The fact that your character is a window cleaner doesn't contribute at all to your story, and likewise the fairground really, as it's just a location, and could be anything. I think you need to think about what opportunities the window cleaner character gives you *because* he/she is a window cleaner.
1) Window cleaners get to look into windows, which means they often observe things or see things that others don't. This means they might become involved in different sorts of stories or end up witnessing something that begins the story. Window cleaners tend to work at height, so they have a different perspective on the world below. There's something about the 'alternate perspectives' that you should perhaps think about.
2) There's something about fairgrounds that have the character of being both happy and sinister at the same time. You've got travelling fairgrounds too, so it needn't be locked into one location. I'm thinking about the other kinds of things you might find at a fairground - like freak shows or escapologist - the sort of side-show stuff that's so atmospheric. Maybe a window cleaner applies for a job in a fairground, where they have to clean the glass of the freakshow enclosures - the 'human mermaid' tank - or maybe this is the story of a guy with big dreams of his own, who is 'only' the window cleaner in the fairground - i.e he's in charge of cleaning all the exhibits, when he wants to be someone more extraordinary:
sideshow 'glass-related' stuff:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/39/70/5c/39705c3042a84b282e53b5d825744a54.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/05/17/2E2430B200000578-3305237-image-m-194_1446743013789.jpg
You might be telling a story about how a lowly cleaner, who is picked on and humiliated, takes some kind of revenge - maybe, just like at actual fairgrounds and theme parks, there is a map to the attractions, like a guide, and at the end of story there is an additional attraction on the map - another sideshow - and it's the result of whatever ugly revenge the cleaner has taken - I suppose I've got both American Horror Story and Tod Browning's Freaks in my head when I'm thinking about your three components:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czH_6eOHtww
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCUco_KrVrA
Personally, I can't imagine how your proposed story gives you any character or environment design excitement at all... I'd push for something more truly inventive - and like I said, it begins with giving a bit more thought to your window cleaner character...