The Place For My Writers Notes

Turn your head and cough?

Okay. I know that the nanowrimo folks are happily writing away, with characters here there and everywhere, right? But you might need a little bit of a complication? Everyone needs a complication in their writing now and then!

You've come to the right place. Today we're having a sale on illness. From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, disease, bad health, affliction, ailing, ailment, attack, breakdown, bug, collapse, complaint, confinement, convalescence, disability, diseasedness, disorder, disturbance, dose, failing health, fit, flu, ill health, indisposition, infirmity, malady, malaise, poor health, prostration, relapse, seizure, sickness, syndrome, unhealth, virus, what going around!

Hum - Synonym Collection V1.1 adds in colic and distemper, but Roget's 21st seems to have the bases covered. I suppose we should also mention good health and well-being, since those are also part of the picture.

See, what we're looking at is whether your characters are healthy or not. Colds and sniffles and bruises and scrapes. Cuts! Broken fingers, arms, legs, and so forth (oh! I knew someone who accidentally kicked the corner of a wall at night going to the bathroom -- and ended up with a broken toe! Apparently very painful, and rather slow to heal. And they were kind of embarrassed to explain it to people.) Headaches. Earaches, toothaches, sore muscles.

And we haven't even gotten to the serious stuff yet! What about appendicitis? Food poisoning.

Oh and there's all those wonderful childhood diseases. Measles and mumps and so forth?

What does all this have to do with your characters? Well, it's all too likely that someone might get hurt or simply catch a cold. And now you've got some complications. How does the bank robber wear a mask and blow his nose every few minutes? Or what about the hero planning to attend his daughter's ballet performance? Does he get out of the hospital and limp into the back of the auditorium on crutches in time?

Over-the-counter, prescription only, emergency rooms, doctors' offices and dental drills -- there is all the fun of trying to treat the problem, dealing with its effects on work and home, and so forth.

Go ahead. If you're trying to throw some grit into the character's smooth path, a little dose of indigestion or perhaps something more serious, may be just the complication you need. So take two and write until the morning.

Incidentally, if you want a really exhaustive list of possible ailments, diseases, and all the other goodies, take a look over here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/ has them listed by age, parts of the body, and by category. Wounds, injuries, and poisons? Poisonous plants? Hah, did you know that babies can get sick from chewing the leaves of a philodendron? Or what about pets getting irritation from the sap of a poinsettia?

And you thought your character was healthy! They might have been, but that egg salad at the picnic sat out for a little too long, and now they're suffering . . .

Okay? Pick a character from your story. Decide which illness or difficulty they're going to encounter, and how they and others will react to that. Then let them run into the road sign cleverly hung so that it slices their forehead open. Or let them start feeling just a little poorly -- and what's that odd spot on their neck? Or . . .

Quotes for the healthy:

"It's no longer a question of staying healthy. It's a question of finding a sickness you like." Jackie Mason

"Health is not valued till sickness comes." Dr. Thomas Fuller

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you." Rita Mae Brown

"The more severe the pain or illness, the more severe will be the necessary changes. These may involve breaking bad habits, or acquiring some new and better ones." Peter McWilliams

Remember, illness is all in your head -- but as the writer, you get to make it your character's problem.
tink
(about 670 words)
gargle and spit