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- May 10, 2011
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Hi everyone! I thought of maybe starting this thread in the Sandbox, but then decided to bring it here because it's not so much about the plot point, it's about making it realistic and I haven't been able to find enough material.
My character is a teen who got kicked out of college despite initially having a scholarship. (This is to give you an idea of her age and resources.) She witnesses a super famous author (like James Patterson level of famous) commit a very questionable thing. Her plan is to blackmail him. Now she has to get through to him somehow in order to deliver her message. This is where the title of the thread comes into play, since to the outside observer she appears to be a fan stalking him.
And this is where realism becomes a problem. From the actual happenings (though the fans doing it are often a little deranged) it seems some sort of restraining order is often given when there is even a slight case of assault or trespassing.
But if she doesn't get that close, there is no way for her to deliver her message. Any kind of letters, etc, would be lost among fan mail. Yet I can't have her getting a restraint order, there mustn't be any obvious troubling connections between them for the sake of the plot.
A friend (who is a fan of an actual celebrity) says it can be easy enough to somehow get close if you followed them, I mean to do it without getting into trouble, but it would be only for a short time. Like enough to snap a picture or something or maybe even steal a kiss if you are crazy enough. Not enough time for a conversation, and of course no messages are paid any attention to.
If the girl was rich, she could have hired a private investigator to find out his usual routes, addresses, etc, and just start following him looking for a lucky moment. Then, like, put her car in the middle of a narrow road to block his car and then force him to listen to her. A bit cinematic, but workable. The problem is, she is rather poor, and I can't change that because of plot reasons.
So basically my question is, is there any realistic way to avoid a restraining order for her while she's repeatedly trying to get him to be alone with her (because it makes zero sense to talk about what he's done around other people, it will kill the blackmailing route)?
My character is a teen who got kicked out of college despite initially having a scholarship. (This is to give you an idea of her age and resources.) She witnesses a super famous author (like James Patterson level of famous) commit a very questionable thing. Her plan is to blackmail him. Now she has to get through to him somehow in order to deliver her message. This is where the title of the thread comes into play, since to the outside observer she appears to be a fan stalking him.
And this is where realism becomes a problem. From the actual happenings (though the fans doing it are often a little deranged) it seems some sort of restraining order is often given when there is even a slight case of assault or trespassing.
But if she doesn't get that close, there is no way for her to deliver her message. Any kind of letters, etc, would be lost among fan mail. Yet I can't have her getting a restraint order, there mustn't be any obvious troubling connections between them for the sake of the plot.
A friend (who is a fan of an actual celebrity) says it can be easy enough to somehow get close if you followed them, I mean to do it without getting into trouble, but it would be only for a short time. Like enough to snap a picture or something or maybe even steal a kiss if you are crazy enough. Not enough time for a conversation, and of course no messages are paid any attention to.
If the girl was rich, she could have hired a private investigator to find out his usual routes, addresses, etc, and just start following him looking for a lucky moment. Then, like, put her car in the middle of a narrow road to block his car and then force him to listen to her. A bit cinematic, but workable. The problem is, she is rather poor, and I can't change that because of plot reasons.
So basically my question is, is there any realistic way to avoid a restraining order for her while she's repeatedly trying to get him to be alone with her (because it makes zero sense to talk about what he's done around other people, it will kill the blackmailing route)?
I don't know how she could realistically get his private email or phone number or Skype ID. Public ones obviously don't work, same with trying to go through his agent. I thought of her trying to pretend being a journalist in order to get a fake interview, but... he's a powerhouse. An "ordinary" author would be pleased, I think, so they wouldn't check it up or ask questions, but someone like this character gets too much media attention to fall for such a trick. It would be like trying to get an interview with J. K. Rowling.
