Alright, so I’ve been mulling over this “Dr. Sam Ellis Prequel” thing for a bit. Not like, a movie deal or anything, just a little thought experiment that kinda took on a life of its own in my head, and then, well, on paper, sort of.
My First Steps Down the Rabbit Hole
It started simple enough. I was thinking about characters, you know, how they get to be who they are. And Dr. Sam Ellis, whoever he is or might be in whatever story, popped into my head. I thought, “What was he like before he was Dr. Ellis, the guy we think we know?” So, the first thing I did was just grab a notebook. Old school, I know. I just started jotting down ideas. Keywords, really. Was he ambitious? A slacker? Idealistic? Cynical from the get-go?
I spent a good few hours just brainstorming. I tried to picture a younger version. What kind of haircut did he have? What terrible fashion choices did he make? You know, the important stuff. But also, what were the defining moments? The stuff that shapes a person.
Getting Into the Nitty-Gritty
After that initial brain dump, I figured I needed some structure. A prequel isn’t just a random collection of early memories. It needs a point, right? So, I started to outline. I tried to think about a core conflict or a central question that his younger self would have faced. What was the journey that led him to become the Dr. Sam Ellis we’re familiar with (or that I was imagining)?
Here’s what I tried:
- Mapping out a timeline: I literally drew a line and started placing potential key events. Early schooling, first real job, a significant relationship, maybe a major screw-up.
- Developing supporting characters: Who was in his life back then? A mentor? A rival? A lost love? These people would have influenced him, pushed him, or held him back. I spent some time fleshing out a couple of these.
- Finding a “catalyst” event: I was looking for that one big thing, or maybe a series of smaller things, that really set him on his path. The point of no return, so to speak.
This part was tough. I’d write something, then look at it the next day and think, “Nah, that’s not it.” I probably went through three or four different core ideas for what the prequel’s main story arc would be. It felt like trying to solve a puzzle where the pieces kept changing shape.
Hitting a Wall, and a Sort of Realization
Then I kind of hit a wall. I realized I was trying to force a narrative that maybe didn’t fit, or maybe I just didn’t have enough to go on for this particular Dr. Ellis I was inventing in my head. The more I tried to nail down a definitive “this is how he became who he is” story, the more it felt… well, a bit bland. A bit too neat.
I started to think, maybe the whole point of some characters is that their past is a bit murky. Maybe trying to explain everything takes away some of the magic, or the realism. Life isn’t always a straight line from A to B with clear signposts, is it? Sometimes it’s a messy detour through C, D, and Q.
So, why am I telling you all this? Because this “practice” of trying to build a prequel taught me something. It wasn’t really about Dr. Sam Ellis, not in the end. It was about the process of character creation, and the realization that sometimes, not having all the answers is more interesting. My “Dr. Sam Ellis Prequel” project didn’t result in a finished story. It resulted in a bunch of notes, a few character sketches, and a better appreciation for the complexities of how people (even fictional ones) are formed.
I guess I realized that my initial goal to map out a clear path was flawed. The real practice became about exploring possibilities, and being okay when those possibilities didn’t lead to a tidy conclusion. And that, in itself, felt like a useful exercise. So, the prequel remains unwritten, a collection of “what ifs,” and honestly, I’m kind of okay with that. It’s still brewing.
