Natalie's Diary

[Bonus Features #1]

There are a bunch of facts that I've been dying to share, especially regarding my original ideas for Natalie's Diary and what it actually became. There was a shuffle in characters, a shift from paranormal to mystery, so much stuff. I'm dying to let out all this stuff that was terribly wrong when I originally imagined Natalie's Diary, at the time called Emily's Diary. 

FIRST, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT TODD. Todd was a useless waste of space from a messed up time when Rhys didn't exist and Dean and Jane were a thing (omg, what a ridiculous idea in retrospect there are so many reasons why that didn't work). Todd wasn't good for anything except freaking out, complaining about things and fighting with Kate. His plot line similarly involved the death of a child, but she was the little sister of a friend and in hanging himself, police found the poor little girl's bones in a ravine. And that was the end of Todd and I was glad because he was irritating. Eventually, you see the less annoying of Todd's traits in Dean. Mostly, the athletic, cool guy stuff. Rhys really only retained Todd's skepticism. 

SO CLEARLY that didn't work. Keep in mind, this was years ago when ideas rolled around in my head and on notebook paper. Enter March 2016 and it was obvious that Todd needed a face lift. For one, he couldn't be Todd because Todd just isn't a name for any worthy kind of character. And then Rhys became something completely different. More useful, snarkier, less whiny albeit still terrible at handling his fear. A character worthy of Jane, which was good because Dean was NOT working as a love interest. Oh my God, what a contrived plot line that was. 

Yes, Dean and Jane were a thing, when I struggled with Jane as a protagonist. For too long she was a rather empty vessel. She stumbled onto Emily's diary while cleaning out her locker and it was actually Dean who was Emily's neighbor. Kate's mom was still a real estate agent and Todd, the idiotic kernel, broke into Emily's place on a dare. ANYWAY, a heavier paranormal aspect begged the question of whether Emily had the power to predict the future, or if the diary had the power to make anything written in it become real. 

The diary itself was much eviler and if they read the chapters out of order, swapped chapters, or otherwise broke rules, the diary used it's evil powers to edge them toward actual suicide. Jane, in an effort to save Dean, a much nerdier and blander version of him, wrote a happy ending into the diary and sacrificed herself by overdosing. Oh my God, they were not interesting enough characters at that point to be that melodramatic. 

Rhys is such a better match and I became so fond of him that I couldn't go through with the initial plan to hang him. And thus, The Hanged Man was born and he dodged that bullet, or noose. 

Kate probably remained the most unchanged, though in Emily's Diary, she did commit suicide after reading a chapter she wasn't supposed to revealing her father's murder-y nature. The guilt of it drove her crazy. On a super morbid note, it was Sophie who found her in the bathtub. So melodramatic. 

I also spent more time choosing names than I care to put a number to. It seems such a waste not to share the effort. 

Natalie was once Emily, but it turns out Emily's Diary is a web comic strip, so she needed a new name. I always thought Natalie sounded like a very spring-time, sunny kind of name. Quite the opposite of Jane's understanding of Natalie. 

You may have noticed that all the core characters only have four letters in their name. There's not reeeeally a reason for that, but I decided I hated Todd and went on a hunt for a better four-letter name. And found Rhys. And he became so different. Probably because he got a way better name. It means 'enthusiasm' but I chose it more for sound than meaning. Chose his last name entirely for the crest. The Hanged Man is a lucky bastard. 

Kate ): Kate, sharing her name with too many queens who met pretty awful fates. Her last name is the clear connection to Jenny. (Her mother and sister do indeed have different last names because Andrea re-married after Conrad left town, as some readers have guessed.)

The Garnetts are all about image, Dean named for an authoritative type position. Rose Garnett chose for the color and the thorns. Edwin means 'rich friend', pretty appropriate for the dealers of Forbidden Fruit, the snakes in the tree. On a related note, Mr. Patrick of the museum was also named for an association to snakes. 

Plain Jane. Jane Doe. Kind of invoking that 'could've been anyone' kind of thing that Jane constantly worries about. Went along with the 'why me, Natalie?!' thing she had going on. As if anyone but Jane could be in charge of unraveling Cullfield.