I'm not American. But what if I was? What if I was and all my neighbors were? What if America, had a back road north of Croydon, England in a place called Thornton Heath? What if I wasn't me, but was, what if I still lived in the same house, went to the same schools as I did, but got to come home to America, in Thornton Heath? Let's say we're talking about 102 houses, maybe more, and two flats, the whole of my road. And.. What if at the top of my road, and the middle of my road and bottom of my road, had a hard border? Put why aside for now, what if I wrote a fiction of me but a me from America having to live in a piece of America full of Americans from every state and D.C and give it the same statehood as D.C and make my road federal but a part of a America in England on my road that has a hard border between USA and South London and this back road off of the main street full of Edwardian terraced houses was a very tiny guarded piece of American sovereignty, and I was from Pennsylvania or New Jersey or Delaware or NYC or somewhere where I haven't been before, like Oregon or California or Washington or whatever, what if I was an American raised in a road in South London that was federal land and treated like America, and was a American, IDK, what if the border looked like that prison in Cuba, Guantanamo Bay, and my road was ran by the Navy or the Air Force or somebody, even though it's in South London, and, yeah, what if they let all Americans in only and other people had to get a visa or something. What if I was 15, and got in invite my school friends at a Croydon Comprehensive'd I'd still have to attend and invite them around and visiting me was having to go through the hard border with rowdy Texans as neighbours and it was a cross between a Party and Mad Max, or, maybe not Mad Max, but, maybe Forrest Gump in Vietnam; but all built up in South London street; a street gleefully riddle with American charm in South London but acting as a part of America with Americans at home and getting American food ordered in and air lifted in and everything being FDA approved. - Better yet, what if my road had that vibe of that prisoners of war camp's American's quarters from that movie Empire of the Sun when you finally got in? I'm going to write it, just don't ask the story why, but, accept it as a story of. I could tell right a way that would turn my street into a tourist attraction, spark fascination with the locals, and bring tourists in who're visiting London and wish to see the hard border maybe, IDK. I could also assume maybe the local Tesco/UK based retail chain that has a location here, would sell more American products, maybe? Cash in on it for all the tourists and Americans working for America living on my guarded road? Also, Americans get to walk in and out for free, or stay clear since they fear entering it and leaving Britain and having to go through immigration again, so, there will be a hard US/UK border at the top of my road, end of my road, and at all other ways to enter my road (in the middle). I think you'd have to give all these Americans/residents and their families diplomatic immunity so only they may walk freely in out of my road, and all others had to go through the protected border, acting as a the UK/US immigration, depending on if you're entering or leaving my road.
I guess the plot would be, growing up and returning to my state, missing my life in Thornton Heath, being an American raised in an American home in a foreign country and going to their schools there, but, this crazy road idea of mine, being the only home I know, and having to leave it, and go back to America, which isn't in South London. But being from America in South London, I'd still be familiar with everything American.
Interesting idea, it reminds me a little of The City and the City by China Miéville, can't wait to see some excerpts.
I'm thinking American department of State meets South London meetss privilege meets walled in compound meets American Government and Defense meets hard border between USA and UK in what would otherwise be England. So... IDK. Growing up and going to the same school, but, getting to come home to America and being the son of some government official or something and then being raised like this and returning to America or... If it's me, c'mon, it will be, I'd be an American from America but raised on this American controlled road home of US officials in some heavily fortified back street, and, some how getting a deal with EMI or whoever and becoming a British rockstar and this is the story of growing up in this environment where, I'd be American, living in what is regarded as US Soil and Sovereignty, but still attending a local school and all of that, with diplomatic immunity to come and go as I please, but having to get guests through immigration and... Me enjoying Soho and escaping it all through a music career. Depends how much I want the star character to be like me, only if I was American and my road was American. Maybe I'd put that British rock star idea on the back burner and just give him a pride of America and London and him being proud of Jimi Hendrix and Slash and their connections to London and America and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and Motorhead and The Sex Pistols etc, make it an American at home who's a constant tourist. So the feeling I get of being a tourist in my own country, leading to a permanent vacation since, I'm blessed with coming from where I come from and I couldn't be happier sometimes, and try get my 'me' character in the story to be me, but, American and my road being an American compound in South London and my house and everything being the same perhaps.
This might sound stupid, but, if I'm to write this from a perspective like mine, only I'm American, I might or might not write this in American English. I might write it in British English, or, write it in American English but have a part where the star character who is essentially me but an American living in my same house, on my same road only it's American, in English class in England being taught in England -- So I might just keep the British education side of it and get taught British English and me going back to America to finish school when I'm 17 or whatever and missing my life and all my friends and everything in England from school and on this street/part of America that's in South London. IDK. The only time I ever wrote anything in American English was this song where I wanted to rhyme the artist Van Gogh with the word 'know', and that was on purpose with an editors note so I dropped all the U's I had to and attach *written in American English - just because I needed Van Gogh to rhyme with 'know'. I guess I'd write my story from the first person who is American living in some fortified American sovereignty (albeit my road, a back road off of the main road), and have me going to school in Croydon (the same one I went to pretty much, a comprehensive school) with diplomatic immunity so I could feel special and get to come home and pass through the hard border, but everyone else has to queue up and is met with a controlled hard border. Think of a back road off of a main road that's a small gated community but with hard borders instead that's got the Navy or Air Force and CBP guarding it because it's technically America (but in South London) and is strictly home to Americans working for America and their families.
If the MC is a long-term American resident of the compound/street/whatever, they're going to be speaking in a mixture of American and British English. I've lived abroad for nearly two decades, I'm an American, but my best friend is from London, and my coworkers are from anywhere from Syndey to Tokyo to San Francisco to Rio to New York to Berlin, and our English is a mishmash of all of the above. It's not hard to figure out where anyone is from, but conversations like: "Dude, can I borrow ichi-man (ten thousand yen) til Tuesday?" "No worries" "Cheers" happen on a regular basis.
Hmm, I fear a mishmash anyway, and I fear that will hurt the credibility or my writing if I have a mishmash... But. .. If it won't and a publisher won't ask, I guess I can try for a mishmash... I'm thinking of a flash back to the 1950's and... This will explain it all. And I was born in late 1986, so, so will he, 'the crazy version of me this'll become' and we'd flash forward to this me character at age 11 having lived on this road since a baby and begin the story at entry into secondary school in England To explain it all before introducing this me character, have a black and white newsreel of President Eisenhower passing this through congress and The Queen of England and Prime Minister Eden is present and the President/Eisenhower is giving an important speech and my road gets given more than an Embassy Status, it's given the same rights as Washington D.C. and there will be at least one house home to a representative from each state plus D.C. and explain how this is all important... Then cut to 1959, Alaska becoming a state, and, a new Alaskan family to work for the US government closely with the British in Westminster (only reason I have I'm afraid) moving into number 49 to represent Alaska.. Then cut to Hawaii becoming a state news reel from 1959 and number 50 a Hawaiian family move into number 50... and then, IDK, start it in 1955 so I don't have to deal with segregation and opening a section of my road up to everybody, and, so I can have Winston Churchill sitting on my road heckling somebody at a ceremony here from a VIP box or something, IDK. I'd write the newsreel to be a passing of time from the event in 1955 to introducing me in 1997/1998, some time then with : The state flag of Hawaii on a black and white (or colour/color, IDK, so let's just say black and white or technicolor) newsreel fills the screen and falls back to make a 50th star on the Stars and Stripes and the American news reader announces the news; "Welcome Hawaii Five 0!" "Hawaii has become a state." and then cut to the shot of the Hawaiian family moving into number 50 and the voice only of the news reader again over this shot saying something like, Hawaii is now a part of the union or something.
I just saw a cool list of order of statehood that said my house would be Oregon if I was to number it, use any kind of order for what house is what and who's the direct neighbours and who lives where and, I've always dreamed of seeing Oregon, so, my character will be of a family from Springfield, Oregon, a saw mill town near/sistered with Eugene, Oregon in Lane County, and will miss all the London guitar shops at first, then immerse himself into that guitar culture out (there is one, I can name stores in Eugene and Portland and luthiers in Springfield) there and remember his time growing up in my house here in the end and it'll all be a flash back and I'd end up in Springfield, Oregon or somewhere as a man who grew up in South London on an American walled in compound. That would be cool too as I'd also have California living next door to me. Also, West Virginia would be the other side, and since the houses across the road are over 50, it'll home some other representatives of branches of American defense and treasury and government and their families etc.
I think your character needs a golden ticket to the WWE World Wrestling World Championships in Caesars Palace Las Vegas. ... I actually attended an International School in the old days. The Americans were like real people but fitter and more attractive.
I've been to Walmart, I think I heard of a County Fair in this place I was staying in PA in 2004, but I don't think I was going to be in town that day. That day, the day I heard about this country fair thing they do, that summer/that day, we purchased Lemonade from a little girl selling Lemonade in Pennsylvania in the well to do suburbs of Philadelphia 'more or less white America'. Found out that was a real thing. I'm thinking, in this story, I want to turn my road into a compound, so think Downing Street meets US Navy Detention Center controlled border and Hummers and things being air lifted in from time to time like American Soda and Beer like Forest Gump in Vietnam and a feel of that prison camp in Empire of the Sun where the Americans were held, and mix that with posh/fancy, so, posh but compound full of American whit. Posh because it's London but maintained by American Tax Dollars because this road in London'll be America and even residents/Americans who live on it, will get to vote in American elections on my road.
It will be more or less a version of me that's not born in London. So, I've found somethings about where I'd have my character be from which ties into my life and my love of London and why I want to go to where I'm planning to have my character come from. So any golden tickets for this guy would be seeing Slash perform in The Kentish Town Forum or Brixton Academy and tell this story through someone who's a version of me, so we'd share all the same interests which is the London guitar scene (it seems) and my character would (based on some order I've found on where to home these families) be from a part of America that, like London, has another guitar culture, and it'll be about coming from here, and meeting that culture and learning to love that out there while being raised in my house and going to my school albeit with diplomatic immunity reserved for residents of my road in my story to pass through the hard borders with ease.
It's my story for the American in me even though I have none. About being from London but feeling like a tourist because it's all I seem to know is all the touristy places all around. Cliché truths about the UK shaping a pair of eyes with outside influence showing him his local bridges and stuff in Hollywood movies. Only it'll be a tale of privilege and isolation, set from Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal time period to the Death of Ronald Reagan or John Kerry's defeat to George W. Bush in 2004. And be in my house if it was home to a me who was the son of someone sent to live in my house to do something for America in the state's name (for some reason except equal representation on this project that requires my road to become American would every US State have representation and D.C. now doesn't because my road get's to act like D.C. so the first fifty address house somebody to represent that state's main interests through whatever the state think's best for this project and my road becomes American and Federal to a point of being like Washington D.C. so Washington D.C. doesn't get an address but instead, my road gets to be as American as Washington D.C. because it will be home to representatives working on behalf of America in London, so, it'll turn my home into federal so, my whole road will have to have an upgrade in terms of, everything being 'posh/fancy/maintained and paid for by American Taxes because it's America and this project is in America's interest (for some reason) as well as the UK's for some reason and this was a thing. Like George Orwell meets Roald Dahl (and told like I'm Rich Hall if I begin to doubt this story and get defensive), but no, I'm thinking, style wise; George Orwell meets Roald Dahl maybe, style wise. So silly like Roald Dhal and Political like George Orwell. Write out a fantasy and focus on the crazy setting and the life changes that would mean and write that, and tell the story of leaving home and missing home and learning to love my new home and having no control over your own destiny and being dragged away, but also blessed at the same time.
