Trash Planting

It started around Thanksgiving. I ate one thing then another until I found myself thinking about goodies and where I could find them. After that, everywhere I went, there were sugary, fat laden foods to feast on. So I ate and ate and (one more) ate until my waistbands groaned in agony. Of course, that could have been the sound of my skin stretching.

Eww, right? 

It was about a week before our Christmas break, after I threw away three empty candy bar wrappers that someone had gifted me, or I stole, (I don't know) that I began wondering what the custodian thought of all the junky wrappers and paper plates that had been filling up my trashcan, daily.

Vanity seems to be my harasser. I know this about myself. Even though I was being bad by eating everything in sight (none of which were fruits and veggies), I didn’t want to look bad.

So I contemplated on how not to leave evidence of my gluttony, you know, as if I were not binging on sweets, dips, cheeses and sausage. I wanted to continue enjoying the bounty. 

Could I:

• Carry the stuff in my hand and not use a plate (omitting the evidence).
• Eat only candies with no wrappers (evidence).
• Use tissue, instead of napkins, to wipe the sugar and chocolate substances from my face, but blow (or act like I did) my nose before tossing it in the trash (red herring).
• Throw my wrappers and/or plates in the trashcans of teachers who were on break (red herring).
• Eat the stuff where the food was offered and throw the trash in with everyone else’s (contaminated evidence).  
• Set up my own bag inside the trash bag provided me, then smuggle it out in my own car, and when I went home dump it in my dumpster (scattering evidence). OR
• Not eat the junk in the first place, which didn’t happen (leaving no evidence at all because there wouldn't be any).  

Thinking back, because of vanity, I wanted to control the custodian's thoughts toward me and pretend I didn’t eat the holiday goodies in excess. 

Of course, I ended up not doing any of those things, but I did in the process think about how my desperate creative ways to disguise my trash output is a lot like writing a mystery. 

As I mentioned, I've been restructuring Mona’s book. I’m figuring out where I need to insert clues, false leads all the while hoping hoping the reader is somewhat surprised. I want them to fish for red herrings, but when they pull in the line—no fishy. 

Evidence can be placed carelessly, with motive or any number of ways, but it needs to be believable. By the end of the book, I want the reader to honesty say, I didn’t see that coming, and I like it. 

Need help with deceit, or I like to call clue trash planting? Read these helpful articles.

Using your words to steer in Three Tips for Creating Evocative Prose by Janice Hardy

Don’t Drop Clues; Place them Carefully by Stephen Rogers talks about the types of clues and misdirecting them.  

How did Agatha Christie do it? The Christie Mystery will tell you in Clues and Red Herrings.

On another note, Millie and I had a great Christmas holiday with our family. She behaved, wasn't too overwhelmed and enjoyed her gifts. I saw two movies (without Millie): Big Hero 6 with 3 out of 4 grand babes and Into the Woods with Dr. Lovely Daughter. They were both great movies. 

I want to apologize for the horrible formatting here. Not my fault. I'm on my last nerve with Blogger formatting. 

Did you have any fun during the holidays?