Jamais Vu
I was looking over my big list of short story ideas last evening, wondering which one I'd tackle next. I had the determined notion to just start working my way through it and crank out more stories--good or bad, because sometimes it's hard to tell until you try. Now I know that some of these ideas will never get written, as I keep adding ideas for new stories to the list. Which made me wonder where might the next new idea come from.
An hour later I was reading a story by Paul Di Filippo and came across the word "jamais vu." Annoyed with myself that I'd never encountered the word, I consulted my Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, which I keep at hand when I read in hardcopy. But "jamais vu" wasn't there. Curious, I laid the story down and checked online at One Look Dictionary Search that lists multiple sources. But before I even did that I knew I was going to write a story entitled "Jamais Vu." And when I learned that it meant the opposite of déjà vu, I thought, Well, that's probably easy enough. A story about a familiar environment that's unfamiliar to the protag. Now I've just gotta find the speculative element.
Took about an hour to come up with that. A post-human tale where the aged denizens have so many memories they have to store them in their cerebral wetdrive, and hence depend on technology too much. But what happens if the interface is severed? What if that happens at an important social function with people you haven't seen in years? What if…?
"Jamais Vu" clocked in at 1,500 words. A single scene tale with a host of wild post-human characters, bored with longevity and looking for anything to relieve the ennui. Short story #92!
I never did finish reading the Di Filippo story. Think I'll do that this evening, unless I come across another word that makes me want to write another short story of my own.