World building is only one aspect of what I must do before proceeding with my WIP. As I explained in my previous post, I have to decide where the Island is located on which I plopped my characters. Yesterday’s research led me to the Bermuda Triangle, Dragon’s Triangle, Formosa Triangle, Michigan Triangle, and Vile Vortices. Cool. Since I am projecting a six book series, should I set each installment in one of these mysterious areas? Or should I keep the setting in the States and environs? I can that determine later. Each story will revolve around a tourist attraction. In book number one, it’s an Orlando theme park. This is all part of the world building aspect.

What’s going to happen in the scene?

1. Nasty winged creatures called pfrells attack our hero and heroine. These beasts are a hunter species from afar. They are not native to the land. Who brought them there? Are they specifically targeting the hero and his team? If so, how did they know Zohar would show up on the island unless it was a setup? The Trolleks, my bad guys, wouldn’t be familiar with these creatures, but Zohar’s enemies at home would be. Is this proof of collusion between them?

2. Zohar and Nira discover crumbling ruins and an ancient monolith with runic writing similar to the symbol on Nira’s watch, the one she inherited from her birth mother. Is it a coincidence they ended up here, or were they meant to find this? What does the writing on the stone mean?

3. Their presence is discovered, and the inhabitants chase after them.

4. Running for their lives, they seek cover in the woods where they meet an old man who turns out later to be a shape shifter. This fellow imparts information that moves the plot forward.

Every scene must have a conflict. Besides the threat from their enemies, which we call the external conflict, what about Nira and Zohar’s relationship and their own personal demons?

In the previous scene, Nira experienced something that she does not want to tell Zohar. Her reticence arouses his suspicions. He already has reasons to distrust women, but he relies on Nira to convey her immunity to the Trollek spell on him. This can only happen if they get, well, intimate. He has no problems on that score but anything else is forbidden to him. Meanwhile, Nira is tracing her history and fears that what she finds will push him away further. Not that she wants to grow too close to Zohar when she knows he’ll leave her in the end. She has her own issues with abandonment and her own goals to accomplish. So while Nira and Zohar work together to escape their enemies, what they each learn about themselves in this scene keeps them apart. Here we have the classic push/pull of a romantic attachment.

Awesome, isn’t it? I’m going to stew on this while I go to Orlando, but now I’m getting hyped about writing it. I see the big scene as The Island, but as you see, it’s broken down into several events or mini scenes and may end up being more than one chapter. Now I just have to determine where this island is located, and no, it’s not the one on Lost.

This all sounds so interesting! But I am trying to catch up with the Marla Shore Mysteries. I just finished Body Wave.(I stuck reading these books out of sequence! I don't have a list of which is the first book, second book so I just grab something at the library or at the book shop). I really enjoyed it. Your characters, as I said before are 3-D.I can visualize them in my brain and that is a good thing. Now on to the next. I have to finish the series.

Thanks, Barbara. As for the order of the books in my series, you can find it on my website. Click on the Bad Hair Day Mysteries page.