Any time a main character must make a literal or figurative journey to achieve a specific goal, you’ll find that journey peppered with obstacles literal and\/or figurative, external and\/or internal.<\/p>\n
It makes for good drama.<\/p>\n
There’s a parallel with life in Fortress Mamea. We’re a reasonable distance from civilisation so, after a good few years’ living here, we know almost to the minute the travel time between us and most of Auckland at any given time of the day.<\/p>\n
Some observations:<\/p>\n
Don’t Even Be a Minute Late<\/u><\/p>\n
If we miss our official departure time by just a minute, what invariably happens after we leave the drawbridge behind us is that we almost immediately find ourselves behind a Slow Driver. Not a Townie Driver who doesn’t belong in our neck of the woods and is understandably unfamiliar with the roads. A Slow Driver: who taps\/floors their brake for corners, distant hazards and imaginary noises, all the while travelling at ten kilometres below the official speed limit.<\/p>\n
The fun doesn’t stop there. There is no point in getting angry or frustrated behind a Slow Driver because —<\/p>\n
There Will Always Be an Even Slower Driver<\/u><\/p>\n
Think the Hyundai Getz driven by someone with the eyesight of a mole is already excruciatingly slow? Give it time and even they will catch up to a Mazda MX5 driven by its One Very Careful Owner. <\/p>\n
Which reminds me – what is it with —<\/p>\n
Sports Cars Driven by Slow Drivers<\/u><\/p>\n
What were they thinking when they bought their vehicle? Or if it was a gift, what in the gods’ names was the giver thinking? Why isn’t there some kind of reflex and\/or psychological profile test salespeople can give prospective owners to determine ability and mental fitness?<\/p>\n
Next time you’re writing a chase scene and your hero has already negotiated a reversing truck, a very bad run of traffic lights, numerous henchmen and their attendant vehicles, and randomly tossed-in-panicked-hysteria infants – and you stop to wonder if a gaggle of nuns might be a bit much… think about the world that we share.<\/p>\n
And write what you know to be true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Any time a main character must make a literal or figurative journey to achieve a specific goal, you’ll find that journey peppered with obstacles literal and\/or figurative, external and\/or internal. It makes for good drama. There’s a parallel with life in Fortress Mamea. We’re a reasonable distance from civilisation so, after a good few years’ … <\/p>\n