For the A-to-Z Challenge 2016, I am blogging info on my current work-in-progress, a YA fantasy/adventure mini-series tentatively titled “The Other World”.
The first book of ‘The Other World’ is rife with what the protagonist believes are hallucinations. They begin when she receives the gift from the nurse, and combined with her feelings about her parents’ deaths, she begins to believe that she is losing her mind.
The hallucinations begin as simple, strange moments that she can’t quite explain. She hears things that no one else seems to hear, sees quick flashes of things that no one else seems to see. Then things star to get more serious. She starts to see full-blown visions of places she never been, and peoples’ faces begin to change before her very eyes. She comes as close as possible to having a nervous breakdown.
By the time we get into the real bulk of the story, our protagonist has a hard time believing anything that is happening around her. She finds herself in a strange place, with strange people and creatures that she never could have imagined on her own, and she’s quite certain at this point that she is hallucinating. She even imagines that perhaps she’s had a mental break, landed herself in an asylum, and is currently strapped to a bed somewhere while her mind runs amok.
This attitude prevails for quite some time as talking beasts begin to appear in her life and a disembodied voice begins to shriek at her in her dreams. In truth, it’s entirely possible that she will never truly shake the belief that everything that is happening to her is in her head. It would certainly be a difficult feeling to shake when your entire world is being turned on its end.
I hope you’re enjoying the A-to-Z Challenge and my little snippets of ‘The Other World’! If you’re interested in what else I’ve written, please be sure to check out ‘Nowhere to Hide‘, available on Amazon in both hard copy and e-book versions!
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Another great posts. I’ve used hallucinations in my books. They are tricky to write, but so powerful. I almost felt like I was connecting to something larger.
Anyway, I enjoyed your post.
Best
Jo-Ann
Thanks! Hallucinations are definitely tricky, but awesome if done right. I’m pleased with the experience. ^_^
Gotta love a good unreliable narrator.
One of my favorite types of stories to read. XD
Sounds creepy. Do you have it all from her point of view? Does she ever know whether it’s in her head or not? I think it’d be a bit much for me, but then, I don’t read horror for that very reason. 😱
Thanks for sharing and happy A to Z!
It’s a third-person narration, but it’s written so that it’s following her at all times, so it’s as good as being directly in her head. And there are moments during which she concludes, reasonably, that it is NOT actually all in her head, but then later she double-guesses herself again because she thinks that perhaps she dreamed the parts that seemed reasonable. Does that make sense? lol It’s fun to keep track of, let me tell you. ^_^
Oh, I bet. It sounds like you’d need lots of patience and note-taking to deal with such a plot. 🙂
Ha ha ha ha…notes…oh man… I’m the worst person in the world for planning and notes. ^_^ I mostly just re-read my work about a hundred times to make sure it sounds right. XD
Great post. This sounds like a great book. And you can twist it in any direction.
[@George_McNeese] from
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Thanks! I’m certainly hoping it turns out to be enjoyable. ^__^
That would be hard to try to figure out what was real and what was a hallucination. Must have been interesting writing this part of your book.
betty
http://viewsfrombenches.blogspot.com/
It was pretty fun, for sure! Thanks for dropping in. ^_^
I’m blog hopping today from North Carolina. Appreciate finding your blog that is easy to read, to navigate, and not cluttered where the information in the post is lost. And, really appreciate the length of your posts. When one of the goals of the #Challenge is to visit as many as possible, the LONG posts are impossible and readers don’t come back. You know the story of the three bears? Well, you posts are “just right.” If you have time or interest, I have spend my time writing about historic hotels and inns for this years theme. Fun. Hope you will join me.
Aw, thanks! I love being compared to the three bears. XD I did purposely try to keep my posts short for the challenge for this reason though…I also find it very difficult to visit many other blogs when some of the posts are so long. ^_^ Thanks for dropping in! I’ll definitely check out your blog as well. 🙂