October 30
October 30
This journal post is aimed at refining my idea for my next short story.
Where & When: England around 1850 (the poor man is in such circumstances due to the industrial revolution that led to unemployment while the rich man benifits off of the factories he owns)
Scenario: A richman gives a beggar a penny, who is suffering due to the unemployment during the time period. Believing in high power and hoping for his life to change, the poor man goes to an ancient hidden wishing well he had discovered one day and drops the coin. After all, this wouldn't do much for him. While he thought many times of stealing from the well, he dared not to ponder such issues too long. The wishing well was sacred and to steal from it would do more harm than good. While droppin the coin however, he sees the richman fishing coins out- as though he were searching for things in them that he couldn't find in himself.
Characters: Reichmann (rich man) and Almir (poor man because alms- food/money given to poor people)
Perspectives: The rich man is trying to find a rare penny to sell and get rich from, such as the Roman Denarius that many ancient wells may contain. He does not see the value in what he has, never learns a lesson within this story.
The poor man, while in sorrow about his situation feels rich at the end after seing Reichmann take coins out of a sacred well. He feels like a prince since he still holds his values.
Both people, however, understand each other without words. They get the desire to steal.
*I am planning on telling the poor person's perspective first in order to add suspense as Almir never quite understands what a rich man could gain from stealing from this well.*
The well: Coventina's well (England) was excavated in 1876 and many coins were found amongst the roman denarius which can be sold today for 11k.
Lesson: Wishing wells are a symbol of how people put their faith into society. By throwing in pennies, there is a mutual trust that no one will steal it, no matter how false that may be. Almir runs from stealing, while it is Reichmann's way of life. There is an article linked below that cited how the rich often steal more than the poor, of which the opposite is a common misconception.
Writing Goals:
Write two different chunks telling the story from two views.
Don't make Reichmann out to be the worst person in the world because I just don't think that's fair.
Have a clear beggining (beggar gets coin), middle (throws coin in), and end (poor feel rich).
Try to be under 1500 words because this is a standard for most short stories and being above that may take away from my goal of attending to peoples' short attention spans.
Sources:
https://thesilverpicker.com/how-much-are-ancient-roman-coins-worth/
https://sites.socsci.uci.edu/~wmmaurer/courses/anthro_money_2006/wishing.html
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/18-01-2024/why-do-rich-people-shoplift