Draft 1
I know that many non-writers--even writers--ask the question "where do your ideas come from?" There are probably as many answers as writers, so I'll just speak for myself.
I like to start from something small. It could be a place, or a few characters, or a title. Sometimes it's just an opening line. From there, I either start writing and see what comes out, or I start asking myself questions. Keeping a few questions in mind gives me something to discover as I write.
Rule One for me is to tell the truth, even in fiction. I'm frequently asking "What really happened?" This lets me step in and out of the story, and hopefully keeps me from becoming too stylized or hackneyed.
So, here are some notes for this story. The first draft (or part thereof) begins after the notes.
the paper midnight
scrap of paper, or photo, something that makes people vanish, kills them, maybe takes them to another place.
what's it used for? is midnight a time, or just the idea of reaching the midpoint between things, or when something ends?
who's trying to find it? who uses it?
there's a tall building, and a woman (brunette) on one of the top floors, 23rd maybe. She's looking at the paper, reading it.
in the center of the paper is what looks like a black dot, about an inch in diameter. But with a magnifying glass, there are details. under a microscope are even more details.
(hmm. an idea i'll keep in reserve, not put down here. see if it shows up on its own. gotta have some mystery, even in a web log!)
On June 12th, Jason McCabe left a note for his wife saying "Won't be home for a couple of days. Sorry, can't explain. When I get back, ask me all about the paper midnight." When she read the note, Gloria immediately called Jason's office, trying to find him. He'd been acting strangely the last week. Their marriage was solid, so she didn't believe he was having an affair. But she knew something was wrong, especially when he wouldn't talk about it. He'd just say "There's nothing to do with you. But I may have some news in a little while."
He wasn't at the office, and no one knew where he was. He'd left early that day, not telling his secretary where to find him. Jason hated cell phones, and, despite some agitated meetings with the CEO, wasn't required to carry one. On TV, they used to say a person had to be missing twenty-four hours before he could be reported. She called anyway. The police officer was courteous, told her that, no there is no mandatory wait time before filing a report. However, the person has to be absent from where he is supposed to be, and the absense has to be involuntary. There were other conditions, but none applied, and she understood that having a note saying he would return, while unusual, certainly didn't make his absense involuntary. But, if he was gone too long, they would look into it.
How long would "too long" be? She decided it would be two days, just like the note said. And, she'd call everyone she knew, including a detective agency if that's what it took. They had the money.
Ultimately, Gloria McCabe did call detectives, and the police, and waited six months for her husband's return before moving on with her life. She remarried several years later, having moved to another city. But years later, she'd wonder if she'd sometime see Jason, maybe he'd be in the post office or a deli. What would she say?
She kept a copy of his note (the police kept the original). In their first year of marriage, her husband would wake up and hear her sobbing. He'd hold her, saying nothing, not even to ask what she meant by "the paper midnight".
Draft 2