... Where it all started. xD

It all started near the end of February 2015. I was at my grandmother's, it was Chinese New Year and I was generally more lazed around. I was slouching on the couch, entering a semi-conscious mode (the kind one would be in when one is about to fall asleep xD) when a scene of Michael kissing a girl in a dark room came into my head.

A dark room. Okay, I'm aware that your focus might be on that few words, so I'd like to add that it wasn't a "mature" scene or anything. The scene was really just an innocent kiss. :)

I couldn't get it out of my head. It literally replayed itself again and again in my head throughout the next few days ... I wanted to know more.

Who was the girl? What was her name?

Over the week, the ideas came. It was a really natural process ... it felt like, they just plopped by next to me and all I had to do was pick them up and store it in my mental library!

Character naming

Previously when I write stories, I spend an awful lot of time just thinking of an in-depth name for my main character. Back then, complicated names felt so cool and stylish and fantastical to me! I had names like "Laurilae" (from "Laura" and "Lorelei") and surnames like "Berrycast" and "Runaple".

So when the name "Cassandra Woods" hopped into my head, I literally questioned my brain.

Me: Cassandra Woods? Are you sure? Seriously?
Brain: Yes, but "Cassie" for short. Cassie Woods.
Me: Hey, are you sure? It's so ... simple.
Brain: Yes, that's her name and no other. Quit being fussy, you buffoon. And she's a photographer, don't forget that.

... That was how I came to have her.

Photographer, Cassandra "Cassie" Woods.

First scenes I - The orphanage

The first scene I had wrote for Capture Our Moments was the "You Know Why" part, I'll publish more details about that next time. *coughs* Anyway, I went backward from there ...

How did they know each other in the first place?

"Can you develop a copy of today's photos for me?"
"Sure."
- Chapter 2: "You're a Real-Life Peter Pan."

The second scene I wrote was the conversation Michael and Cassie had at the orphanage. In contrast to both of them sitting on the swings, the early version involved Michael walking towards Cassie, who was standing behind the camera stand.

But still ...

I had this feeling that they had already met before the above dialogue took place.

... BAM, an interview.

First Scenes II - The interview

I think there are three reasons as to why I chose the Barbara Walters interview:

(1) OHMIGOSH I love the pictures I love the pictures I love ghjfdhflsajdlksafjdsfjsd

(2) At that time, it was the only other interview I had watched besides the Oprah one.

(3) I disliked the interview - somewhat. It isn't because of Michael, definitely not. It was because I felt that the questions Walters asked were ... prickly, like: "I know more than you. Being Michael Jackson doesn't mean you're smart. You're odd and both of us know it."

Even my mum mentioned made a similar comment when I showed her the interview, so ... I simply wanted to write our opinions down.

The initial scene took place in an alley behind the hotel - that certainly does not make much sense! xD Therefore, after drafting out the conversations for Chapter 1, I forced my brain to make a switch, to change the location into a logical hallway. :)

COM's title

For the story, I had created a new file on my laptop and named it "Moment Capture", as the two words were frequently associated with photography. When it came to naming the actual story, I played around with some variations:

Those Captured Moments?
Moments Captured?
Capture Those Moments?

... Finally settling on Capture Our Moments.

Actually, there were several other possible titles I had written down, but they're incredibly silly and embarrassing. I'm too ashamed to share them. xD