I found a story on Nifty once, about a young man who was rendered totally blind after an accident. However, when he touched something with his hands, he had these flashes of clairvoyance which allowed him to "see" what that person or thing looked like. If I'd picked up that story in a bookstore, I probably would have thrown it in the trashcan without buying it first, LOL.

Currently, I'm working on a short piece about two middle school boys who struggle to define their feelings for each other as the Autumn dance event looms. They've been best friends since Kindergarten, and they know that boys don't typically hold hands or hug each other. However, neither boy has been willing to admit his true feelings for the other person...yet. One of the boys is mute and uses ASL, but I haven't decided if the other boy will have a disability of some sort.

On 1/22/2021 at 3:50 AM, Page Scrawler said:

I found a story on Nifty once, about a young man who was rendered totally blind after an accident. However, when he touched something with his hands, he had these flashes of clairvoyance which allowed him to "see" what that person or thing looked like. If I'd picked up that story in a bookstore, I probably would have thrown it in the trashcan without buying it first, LOL.

Currently, I'm working on a short piece about two middle school boys who struggle to define their feelings for each other as the Autumn dance event looms. They've been best friends since Kindergarten, and they know that boys don't typically hold hands or hug each other. However, neither boy has been willing to admit his true feelings for the other person...yet. One of the boys is mute and uses ASL, but I haven't decided if the other boy will have a disability of some sort.

Cool, I'm working on a untitled story around wilderness survival between two sixteen year old high school boys.

One of my characters has limited hearing and uses hearing aids. Being low vision myself and having dated a limited hearing individual, there's a middle ground between complete disability and full capability. Also, just so you know, a lot of the deaf community does not like to consider what they have as a "disability" per se.

The other character in my story has ADHD; in the wilderness environment, there's no Ritalin, impulse control and focus are not possible for him. He's based off a friend of mine from High School and some interesting conversations I have had with him, when he's not on medication. ADHD is not as glamorous as Percy Jackson makes it out to be, but I did like how he structured his thoughts and there's a rhyme/reason to it when you break down all the components.

At the heart of this new story is communications, two people with physical issues that limit their ability to communicate are stuck in a life-death situation, where communication and coordination will help. Add to the fact that they have a sexual attraction to one another, hormones from teens, and odd things from nature, I hope it can be fun.

@W_L Oh, and I just have a few questions, regarding the wilderness survival story.

Question One: Are the names of these two boys finalized? I mean, their last names are Deere and Wolfe? I don't know if other readers might feel the same way, but for myself? If I read those names in a story, I'd get distracted every time they were mentioned. Just something to think about. 

Question Two: Where exactly will the story take place, in terms of geography? Are they in the desert? The woods? The Appalachian Mountains?

1 hour ago, Page Scrawler said:

@W_L Oh, and I just have a few questions, regarding the wilderness survival story.

Question One: Are the names of these two boys finalized? I mean, their last names are Deere and Wolfe? I don't know if other readers might feel the same way, but for myself? If I read those names in a story, I'd get distracted every time they were mentioned. Just something to think about. 

Question Two: Where exactly will the story take place, in terms of geography? Are they in the desert? The woods? The Appalachian Mountains?

1. Well, the names are optional and not final. I am still seeking a beta and editor   I do take cues from prospective readers and can change the last names.

2. This would likely take place in the Canadian Wilderness in the Saskatchewan Province, which has both extreme temperature shifts from warm summers and arctic winters, along with an abundant amount of freshwater lakes.

1 hour ago, W_L said:

This would likely take place in the Canadian Wilderness in the Saskatchewan Province, which has both extreme temperature shifts from warm summers and arctic winters, along with an abundant amount of freshwater lakes.

Ahhh, so the setting is similar to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet series. I always loved those books when I was growing up.  The alternate storyline in which Brian had to live through the winter was my favorite, I think. The trees actually exploded because the sap froze inside the trunks! 

6 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

Ahhh, so the setting is similar to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet series. I always loved those books when I was growing up.  The alternate storyline in which Brian had to live through the winter was my favorite, I think. The trees actually exploded because the sap froze inside the trunks! 

I know, I re-read them during the Pandemic It was my favorite too as a kid, I think I had my first "natural" hard-on, while reading the alternate story Brian's Winter, the scene when Brian jumps out of his shelter naked screaming after hearing the "tree popping" sounds. The idea of a teenage boy standing naked in the woods was hot, when I was 12-13.

My untitled story is an old-school kind of story, but unlike Brian, I am not going to leave my main characters alone to survive on their own. The challenge will be significantly different though, because of their unique attributes: Being deaf is dangerous in the woods, especially if cannot hear the approach of wild creatures. Having ADHD without medication isn't exactly a Percy Jackson adventure, day to day survival requires focus on something and knowledge that this character does not have.

Of course, as neither of my characters have experience in the wilderness, I did leave them some tools for survival early on rather than later as in Hatchet. Brian had full function of his body and mind, so it would be unrealistic for my characters to survive with their physical limitations.