Writing Process: "The Monsters"

The flash fiction story “The Monsters” was written in the “Character” method, one of the 3 ways to develop an idea into a story. That is: taking a character through a transformation.

Of course, there are spoilers, so if you haven’t read the story yet, do that first, using the link in the first sentence of this post.

Before we start ...
do you want to write fiction faster,
while practicing your craft
and your writing process
to consistently get better? 

Check out this link to
the FREE "Write Fiction Faster ... and better"
guide and workbook,
which comes with a FREE companion course
with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.

CHALLENGE

Writing Prompts: -

• Name 3 characters. What do their names say about them? - Check out this article for ideas: storybuzz.com/blog/name-your-characters
• What are the relationships between these three?
• Pick one of the characters to go through a major transformation. How do the other two help or hinder the transformation?

Select any one or combination of the prompts. 

In addition, I used this writing prompt from Reedsy.com:

Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.”

Method: Character

CONCEPT 

The “three characters” prompt brought “Three Little Pigs” to mind. I played around, with it and picked as a working title “Three Little Prigs” just because it rhymed and alliterated with the original “Three Little Pigs.”

Using my trusty Oxford English Dictionary (OED), one less frequently used definition for “prig” is a thief, from the archaic word “prigging”, meaning thieving. This word, according to the OED, was first used in 1567.

So, I decided to write about three thieves in 1567.

In the spirit of "Three Little Pigs", there should also be a house coming down (though likely NOT from a wolf huffing and puffing.)

One of them would need to go through a character transformation and one (or both) of the other two would have something to do with it.

That’s all I had before doing the research and the “Character Method” work to develop the basic idea.

RESEARCH

I started with the word research of the inspiration word “prig” and found this:

prig (n)

• thief (to steal is “prig”, the thief is a “prigger” - 1567)
• fop (archaic)
• fellow, person (archaic)
• one who offends or irritates by observance of proprieties (as of speech or manners) in a pointed manner or to an obnoxious degree

So, since the first use of the word prig was in 1567, I looked at other words from this year, which included:

• besot - infatuate, to make dull or stupid, drunk
• bodice - upper part of woman’s dress, corsets (archaic)
• Bow bells - the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow in London
• burgonet - close fitting 16th century helmet with cheek guards
• calamary - squid
• copestone - finishing touch, a stone forming a coping
• copemate - partner, comrade, associate (also antagonist, obsolete
• copeman - merchant
• eversion - turning inside out
• pari passu - at an equal rate or pace
• quantum - quantity, amount, gross quantity = bulk
• riant - cheerful, mirthful

In the end I only used the word “Bow bells” in the finished story, but that’s the way of research, you got to let your mind explore until the Muse lights the way.

Next, I looked up what happened in 1567, and found the inspiration that let me develop the story, namely the Murder of Lord Darnley who was Mary, Queen of Scots's husband:

• February 10 - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots (aka Mary Stuart) was murdered at the Provost’s House in Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh
  • Lord Darnley was jealous of Mary’s friendship with her private secretary, David Rizzio who was rumored to be the father of her child.
  • Lord Darnley entered into a secret conspiracy with Protestant lords and a group of the conspirators accompanied by Darnley murdered Rizzio in front of a pregnant Mary at a dinner party in Holyrood Palace.
  • On the night of 9–10 February 1567, Mary visited her husband in the early evening and then attended the wedding celebrations of a member of her household at Holyrood Castle nearby.
  • In the early hours of the morning, February 10, the Old Provost’s House was destroyed by a gunpowder explosion.
  • The partially clothed bodies of Darnley and his servant were found in a nearby orchard, apparently either smothered or strangled but unharmed by the explosion.
  • One person was in the house and killed by the explosion.
  • The Earl of Bothwell and Mary herself were among those who came under suspicion.
  • Lord Darnley’s father, the Earl of Lennox later produced a narrative of events which says that some witnesses said Mary was dressed in men’s clothing on that night, “which apparel she loved oftentimes to be in, in dancings secretly with the King her husband, and going in masks by night through the street”.
  • Later, James Melville of Halhill wrote in his Memoirs that a page said Darnley was taken out of the house before the explosion and was choked to death in a stable with a serviette in his mouth, then left under a tree.
  • According to his statement, the next morning the queen’s servant Nicolas Hubert, known as French Paris, came to the queen’s bedchamber at Holyrood Palace to hang her bed with black curtains for mourning and light candles in the “ruelle”, a space between the bed and the wall. A lady in waiting, Madame de Bryant gave him a fried egg for his breakfast. He noticed her speaking privately with James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, concealed behind a curtain.
• April 12 - Bothwell was acquitted after a seven-hour trial. A week later, Bothwell managed to convince more than two dozen lords and bishops to sign the Ainslie Tavern Bond, in which they agreed to support his aim to marry the queen.
• April 24 - On her way back to Edinburgh, Mary was abducted, willingly or not, by Lord Bothwell and his men and taken to Dunbar Castle, where he may have raped her.
• May 15 - Mary Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell (3 months after the death of her prior husband).
• June 15 - Mary Queen of Scots is defeated by Scottish nobles at the Battle of Carberry Hill and imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle.
• July 24 - Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate and replaced by her one-year-old son James VI (crowned July 29).

This is a contemporary 1567 drawing of the murder scene (CSI: 16th Century), which I ended up using as part of the illustration for the story:

The Casket letters were eight letters and some sonnets said to have been written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1567.

Exactly how Queen Mary’s accusers got hold of the incriminating “casket letters” is not known, so I invented for the story that it was in fact young Brod Munro who stole the letters and delivered them to Mary’s chief accuser, The Earl of Moray.

GENRE

• Historical Fiction
• Crime Fiction

CHARACTERS

Since the story was set in Edinburgh, I looked up Scottish names. And, since the prompt was to have three characters, with one of them going through a character transformation, I decided on a thief who has two young boys, twins, where one of the twins will go through the character transformation. I could also see how to work in the phrase “Maybe in another life" from the Reedsy prompt, with one twin saying that phrase to the other.

I then googled “Scottish male first names” and selected them so as to symbolize their roles. As I began to define the story, I identified other characters for this story. Here they are including the sketch of the backstory:

• Broderick (Brod) Munro - role: protagonist - first name just means “brother”, last name Munro is common in northern Scotland. Born 1558, is 9 years of age in 1567 and Viscount of Tain at age 29 years in 1587 (20 years later), which is the year Mary Queen of Scots was executed. He betrayed her, gave up the “casket letters” in the same year that she took him in 1567, and he was taken under the wing of the Earl of Morton, James Douglas, through whom he met and befriended the young King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England of the KJV Bible fame) in the King’s childhood years.

  • Broderick Munro, 1st Viscount of Tain, created Viscount by King James VI in 1587
    
    • James VI created 48 Peers in Scotland
    • Tain is a royal burgh in the area of Northern Scotland where the Munro family is from
    • In the span of 20 years, Brod goes from the “little child” (“wee bairn”) son of a thief to a Peer of Scotland, Viscount Tain, trusted friend of King James VI (James I)
    • Example from real life: David Murray, 1st Viscount of Stormont who was brought up in the court and made cupbearer by James VI in 1580, then master of horse, then Sir, then Lord Scone, then Viscount Stormont
  • James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (51)
    • His children did not survive to adulthood
    • Brod becomes a servant, then surrogate child
    • Part of the conspirators who murdered David Rizzio (Mary, Queen of Scots's private secretary, and possibly lover, maybe the true father of James IV and I)
    • Regent of Scotland 1572–1578 (and briefly 1578–79)
    • Allied with Queen Elizabeth I
  • James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
    • Regent of Scotland, assassinated 1570
  • King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England)
    • Born 1566 (8 years younger than Brod Munro)
    • From 1568–1578 when James Douglas, Earl of Morton was Privy Council to the Regent (Moray) and later Regent, King James VI grew from 2 years of age to 12 years of age, and at the same time Brod Munro grew from 10 to 20 years of age, and he grew close to the young King as a trusted servant of the Regent.
  • Earl of Lennox (Esmé Stewart, Sieur d’Aubigny) - first cousin of Lord Darnley
    • In 1579, Brod Munro shifted his focus to gain Lennox’s favor and betrayed the Earl of Morton who was executed in 1581
    • Lennox was 24 when James VI was born, and was 37 when he became the favorite of the 13-year old King in 1579 when Brod Munro was 21 years old
    • After betraying Lennox, Brod Munro continued to maintain his close the relationship with King James VI and was created Earl of Tain in 1587
      
      

• Angus Munro - role: antagonist - first name means “unnaturally strong” the “lion brother” - same age as his twin brother
  
  

• Donald Munro - role: mentor (in a dark way) - the father, first name meaning “great chief, world mighty” signifying the dominance and sway he has over both his young sons

  • The twin boys were born in 1558 when he was in his mid twenties, so in 1567 Donald is in his mid-thirties (born circa 1533)
  • His wife died in child-birth, leaving Donald the single parent and sole provider for the boys 
    
    

• Mary Queen of Scots - role: tempter, logical
  
  

• Bothwell - emotional (hothead) - James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
  
  

The following characters are only part of the backstory, not featured or mentioned in the story, but could be introduced in future stories about the Munro brothers:

• Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley - Mary’s husband, murdered
  
  
• David Rizzio - Mary’s former lover (and secretary), Italian
  
  
• Servant (unnamed) - murdered next to Lord Darnley
  
  
• King James VI and I of Scotland and England  - Brod’s benefactor, creates him 1st Viscount of Tain
  
  
• James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton - takes in Brod after his betrayal of Mary Stuart, surrogate son - Morton is Regent of Scotland until 1579 (beheaded 1581)

IDEA TO STORY: CHARACTER METHOD

The character sketches above were developed interactively with the Character Method for plotting the story.

I used the PeopleSTORY form to develop the story, using the Character Method.

If you want to learn more about this and other methods for developing your ideas into stories, as well as get the forms and worksheets, click to get the FREE Guide, Workbook, and Course.

What happened before this story? And after? It would be fun to explore the parallel lives of the Munro boys: one at the court of Queen Mary and King James, the other in the criminal underworld of 16th Century Scotland and England.

WORLDBUILDING

The world building was based primarily on the research of 16th Century Edinburgh and London.

Language can add texture to worldbuilding. I wanted to use the contrast between Brod’s cultured voice (as “the Viscount”) and Angus’s Scottish brogue, along with Brod breaking into the brogue at key parts in their conversation.

I used this site as a resource for the Scottish words.

Scottish Words and Phrases

Here are the Scottish words and phrases I selected, in the order they appear in the story:

• I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug! – I’ll give you a slap on the ear!
• Haud yer wheesht! – Be quiet.
• yer - your
• greet - cry, weep
• dae, dui - do
• ye - you
• hoose – house
• tae - to
• wee - little
• bairn - child, baby
• feart – afraid
• ain - own
• shaddie - shadow
• whitfor - why
• canna - can’t
• braw - fine, splendid, excellent
• stark - strong
• clot-head - idiot, imbecile
• na, nae - no, not
• guid - good
• weish - wish
• wis - was, were
• deid - dead
• och - oh
• dinnae - don’t
• ken - know
• neir - never
• agin - again
• gaun - going
• saiz, sain - says, saying
• sel - self
• murther - murder
• thon - those
• telt - told
• aye - yes
• faither - father
• thatwey - that way
• eith - easy
• lad - boy
• a right scunner - off-putting
• oogly - ugly
• ah’m - I’m
• sairry - sorry
• truith - truth

16th Century English words

• Bow bell - the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow in London, which rings the curfew that is then picked up by the other bells in London
• scullery - kitchen
• lanthorn - lantern
• dexter - right
• sinister - left
• prestigiation - the practice of sorcery or magic

OPENING LINES

I tried out these opening lines:

February 10, 1567 Edinburgh

“I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug!”

His father followed through on his promise, landing a slap on Brod’s ear so hard it made the young boy’s head ring like a great bell.

Brod began keening, tears running down his soot-smudged cheeks.

“Haud yer wheesht, and stop yer greetin'!” Donald Munro wheezed. He grabbed his 10-year old son by the collar, yanked him off the dirt floor — the boy’s feet dangling — and stared at him with black eyes under bushy eyebrows above a great, big, bulbous broken-veined drunkard’s nose. “Dae ye want the whole hoose tae wake up and catch us in the act o' thievin'?”

Donald Munro let go of his son, who fell down onto the dirt floor in the dark cellar, and curled up, still crying, but without a sound.

“Ye wee bairn, frait of yer own shadow. Why can’t ye be braw and strong like Angus?”

Brod saw his father’s heavy work boot next to his head, joined by his twin brother Angus’s smaller boot. Presently his father’s boot was gone, but his brother’s remained.

Then that little boot came down on Brod’s throat, and Angus put his whole 10-year old weight behind it.

“Brod, ye clot-heid, yer no gud,” Angus whispered as he ground the boot into his brother’s thin neck. “Ah wish ye were deid.”

Brod wrestled free, scrambled up, and ran out of the cellar into the cold night air.*

The actual opening lines in the story are not too far off.

STORY TITLE

The working title was “Three Little Prigs” with the archaic meaning of the word “Prig” (thieves) which referred to the Munros (father and two sons), and also the gunpowder blast bringing down the house they were robbing (in a huff and a puff).

But that working title seemed too quaint. So, once the story was written, I used the tools of Story-Mining and Title-Storming.

I came up with the lists below, and in the end settled on the clean, simple “The Monsters” which I’ve sorted to the top of the list, but which emerged relatively late in the game after I had tried out a lot of other versions of titles with “Monster”, all of which seemed either too long or too quaint.

Story Mining

• The Monsters
• Ghost-Toes
• The Monsters He Made Us
• The Monsters We Became
• Monsters' Rejoining
• As Sorry As a Monster Can Be
• Gunpowder Residue
• Three Thieves
• Two Monsters
• Three Little Prigs
• He Made Us Monsters
• Made Monsters
• Long Lost Toes
• Long Lost
• Us Monsters
• We Two Monsters

Title-Storming

QUOTES

These quotes are all from Shakespeare plays from around the time of the story:

• From Monster’s View - A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• What Monsters You Make Of Them - Hamlet
• Pity Would Move a Monster - King Henry the Eight
• And Be a Carrion Monster Like Thyself - King John
• He Were a Brave Monster, Indeed - The Tempest
• The Heart of Monster - The Winter’s Tale

RANDOM

I used a random title generator and modified slightly:

• Monsters in the Fog
• His Creatures

FREEWRITE

I had already settled on the simple title “The Monsters” by the time I got to this step, so I skipped it.

WRITING THE STORY

My definition of Flash Fiction is a Short, Sharp, Shocking Story.

• Short - less than 1,000 words
• Sharp - cut to the bone, no wasted words, few characters, few scenes
• Shocking - strong images, surprise twists, ending that resonates
• Story - complete plot in miniature, not just a fragment 

I used my favorite all-purpose writing container, Obsidian, which is a very clean, uncluttered container that also gives me immediate feedback on word count, since I tend to get wordy and I wanted to aim for the “less than 1,000 words” convention for flash fiction. Of course, I didn’t quite make that, since this story clocks in at around 1,500 words, but in many people’s definition, this would still be considered “Flash Fiction.”

Resources

Here are some other resources that will be helpful as you write your stories.

MY FAVORITE ALL-PURPOSE RESOURCE

The Writer's Treasure Chest - everything in one place, curated, organized, this is a great reference for all things writing craft, with tons of prompts, plot/character generators and other tools to inspire you to write great stories.

RELATED ARTICLES

Here are some articles that will be helpful as you work on all the aspects of the writing craft and your writing process: 

• Write Fiction Faster! — How to Speed Up Your Story Writing 
  
  
• Need a Great Idea for Your Next Story? Try the Story IDEA Formula
  
  
• From Idea to Story: 3 Methods to Develop Your Story Idea 
  
  
• How to Write Characters Who Stick in the Reader's Mind 
  
  
• What Makes a Good Story? — Great Scenes! Here's How to Write Them
  
  
• Make Your Story Sing — Write Great Dialogue!
  
  
• Flash Fiction: How To Use It To Supercharge Your Writing 
  
  
• Blast Through Writer's Block: How to Get Unstuck 
  
  
• Find Your Stagecoach — How to Master the Art of Writing Fiction

FREE COURSE, GUIDE AND WORKBOOK

Do you want to write fiction faster, while practicing your craft and your writing process to consistently get better? Check out this link to the "Write Fiction Faster ... and better" guide and workbook, which comes with a companion course with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.