I am deep into the creative process this morning. This current drawing is being prepped for embroidery re Molly, a True Crime Analysis as I simultaneously review forensic techniques and review my manuscript. Multi-tasking.
Walk around the lagoon. Think think think. Massage the timeline.
Spend hours in the coffee shop. Keep massaging that timeline.
Rewrite introduction.
Add it to the private presentation site.
Work on treatment and elevator pitch.
Review the theme of the month: committed choice.
Spend hours, again, with a old, now cold, cup of coffee , crowded onto a small shared table, on the 5 W’s.
Add them to the private presentation site.
Pull some angel cards: communication, patience.
Revise revise revise.
Elevator pitch, elevator pitch.
WHO?
This book is a matter of identity– the investigation into the short and tragic life of Molly O’Dwyer and the parallel search for the identity two unidentified brothers whose lives ended tragically and maliciously at the hands of an unidentified subject.
WHAT?
The filicide of two unidentified brothers.
WHEN?
1947.
WHERE?
Stanley Park.
WHY?
Family secrets.
HOW?
The physical and circumstantial evidence suggests the unfolding events of the crime.
Braid together the time lines. Make them make sense left to right, top to bottom.
Act 1, the Intrigue– in which a decision is made, skeletons are discovered and an autopsy is conducted.
Act 2, the Rising Action– in which an outing begins, DNA results come in and a child is born.
Act 3, the Suspense– in which the forest is entered, evidence is examined and innocence is lost.
Act 4, the Falling Action– in which a crime is committed, an Aha! moment presents itself and time runs out.
Act 5, the Resolution– in which a scene is fled, an eyewitness comes forward and the truth is revealed.
TIMELINE 1
HOW?
TIMELINE 2
WHAT?
TIMELINE 3
WHY?
ACT 1
INTRIGUE:
IN WHICH,
A DECISION IS MADE;
SKELETONS ARE DISCOVERED;
AND AN AUTOPSY IS CONDUCTED.
ACT 2
RISING ACTION:
IN WHICH,
AN OUTING BEGINS;
DNA RESULTS COME IN;
AND A CHILD IS BORN.
ACT 3
SUSPENSE:
IN WHICH,
THE FOREST IS ENTERED;
EVIDENCE IS EXAMINED;
AND INNOCENCE IS LOST.
ACT 4
FALLING ACTION:
IN WHICH,
A CRIME IS COMMITTED;
AN AHA! MOMENT PRESENTS ITSELF;
AND TIME RUNS OUT.
ACT 5
RESOLUTION:
IN WHICH,
A SCENE IS FLED;
AN EYEWITNESS COMES FORWARD;
AND TRUTH IS REVEALED.
Just set one day’s work in front of the last day’s work. That’s the way it comes out. And that’s the only way it does. – John Steinbeck
It has taken me years to create a structure for Molly that could combine two stories that run both parallel to each other and have intriguing connections.
Massive research needs to be formatted in a cohesive way, yet allow for a compelling narrative.
Currently, three timelines run through Molly and eventually braid together converging in Fall 1947. I went into a research wormhole a few weeks back as I contemplated the image of the braid. And lo and behold, the braid theory is indeed a thing (ironically coined in 1947 by Emil Artin).
IMAGERY:
The braid and the trefoil knot-
A knot may be represented as the closure of certain braids. A mathematician’s knot differs in that the ends are joined together so that it cannot be undone. Thus braiding together the three timelines within the narrative leads to intriguing circumstantial evidence, intertwining of the two stories of the Babes in the Wood and Molly O’Dwyer.
We have all experienced on some rare occasion the feeling of elation in realizing that we have enabled our listeners to see at a glance the whole architecture and all its ramifications. – Emil Artin, mathematician
The trefoil knot (a play on the Irish Clover) further illustrates the convergence of the timeline in 1947- it is impossible to untie it without cutting it. It also alludes to Molly’s Irish heritage.
“Gentlemen, when two separate events occur simultaneously pertaining to the same object of inquiry, we must always pay strict attention.” –Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks
This is the endless magic that happens with this project. Incredible incredible magic. I must remember that.
I know that my heart will be forever in this suspended animation, as I live entwined in [their] circumstance.[1]
To build the timeline and the family tree, I started with the original news articles and then proceeded to a variety of resources such as BC Archives and Alberta Archives, Pier 21 Society passenger lists, “Henderson Listings” (essentially phone catalogues that cross reference addresses with residents and lists the person’s occupation)[2], obituary notices, death certificates, special collection searches, etc.
[1] “Joy “(2001) Where is God in a Mental HospitalNAMI-SCC, the Santa Cruz, California, affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.Retrieved September 8, 2006 from http://www.namiscc.org/newsletters/December01/myson.htm
[2] Vancouver “Henderson Listings” published by Sun Directories Limited, Sun Building, 500 Beatty Street, Vancouver, BC
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