What is the dirt like in the desert? Miranda and Riley are crossing the Nevada Desert. The ground here is rocky; the sand is hard and gritty. There are rocky outcroppings and cactus and sage. The place is alive with snakes, lizards, birds and rabbits.
Miranda is not a survivalist. She isn’t the type of character who knows how to catch dinner with a shoe string and a paper clip. She’s never killed anything furry. She doesn’t know how to make a fire without a match. She and Riley don’t have proper shoes or clothing. The sun burns them during the day. They freeze at night.
It all starts with the dirt. How does it feel to cross the desert and feel the ground cut your feet to ribbons? Worse, you have to keep going because you can’t survive another freezing night.
I really, really wanted to skip this part of the story. I wanted to get right into the next phase of things where the fun and games start and Miranda and Riley begin their personal war on the aliens. I wanted to skip this part because it’s hard. The details are painful and important. The details are what tear my characters apart and it is their reaction to the details that rebuild them into heroes. Miranda and Riley have important lessons to learn from the desert. They will learn to trust each other. They will learn to skin a rabbit. They will learn to survive on their own. It’s either that or die.
So I’m thinking about dirt, and grit and pain and determination. I’m thinking about the kinds of things it takes to turn a victim into a hero.
If you’re following the saga of Miranda and Riley, stay tuned. I am reworking the beginning and plan to post an update.