Story ideas are seeds.
They need water and time to grow into their final form.
I have had several different short stories in mind ever since I finished writing the first draft of The Dark Thorn. While writing a novel with such rich history behind it, it was inevitable that several different side stories not worthy of a full-length novel would present themselves. Some of these are set in the past; others are set in the present. All of them have different characters. Yet each one is a kernel with the possibility of expanding the breadth of The Dark Thorn while being really fun to write.
I pitched the first written of these short stories last week to Clarkesworld Magazine, an online rag that has a very quick turn around in their submission process.
To Slay Anrhydedd was rejected. They only have room for two stories each issue and my story was not what they are looking for.
Tomorrow, I will pitch the story to Realms of Fantasy, a much slower eight-week turnaround for the submission process.
And continue forward until someone wants it.
In the meantime, I might as well continue rewriting The Dark Thorn and work on the other short stories as time allows.
But while at the gym this morning, an odd thing happened.
I spent time writing.
Accidentally.
For the last five weeks I have gone to the gym almost every day. I find it is a great stress reliever. Every day I begin on the elliptical where I first burn 300 calories before moving to whatever area of my body I will spend time conditioning with weights. On the elliptical I usually stare off across the street, watching people come and go—some with dogs, some with children, some with both. Sometimes I watch crows fight over food left behind by patrons of the nearby restaurant. It always makes the 300 calories pass quickly.
Today I went to the gym as usual, and had a different experience.
One of the short story kernels came to the fore.
It would not be ignored.
As a digression, I am in the midst of reading the novella The Mystery Knight by George R. R. Martin. Tor Books sent me an Advanced Reader Copy of the Warriors anthology and, after reading the two previous novellas The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword in preparation, dove right into The Mystery Knight last night. Since I have begun writing my own short stories/novellas, I thought I would pay attention to how George builds tension, how he plays out conflict, how he gives his novella characters complete arcs with the fewest words possible, and how he adds to the history he has already established in A Saga of Ice & Fire without repeating to readers what they already know.
When I went to the gym today, I had all of that on the forefront of my mind.
While on the elliptical, one of the short story kernels became wedged in my mind. I could not ignore it. I began connecting the dots, giving the seed water, developing the short story from the beginning through to its end. I’ve known the principal character, Philip Plantagenet, from the moment the idea popped into my head. I’ve also known his best friend, John Lewis Hugo. I knew two scenes, one of which includes King Henry II. That was it. As I sweat beads from the workout, new characters emerged who would also play a role. The completed arcs of my characters became known. I learned where the tension in the story would come from and why it was pertinent to the history established in The Dark Thorn.
The lessons I learned from reading three straight George R. R. Martin novellas played into my own short story writing process, George a silent mentor whether he likes it or not.
I burned 500 calories—without feeling it.
That is the power of the creative impulse. It pushes all other important parts of one’s life away, demanding attention. I don’t know about other people, but I usually have these moments in the shower or while driving. Now I have added the elliptical to that list. I know tomorrow when I go to the gym I will work on the short story more, letting it percolate and grow as it needs, before I ever lay a word down.
That time will come within the next month or so, I think.
The lesson to be learned from this: Most authors, when giving craft advice, tell hopeful writers to read almost as much as they write.
I can now attest to the value of that counsel in a very personal way.
Reading can be a great teacher.
If one pays attention to how the crafter tells the story.
Interesting stuff.
Of late, I’ve had ideas staring me in the face when I wake up. Only occasionally have they shown themselves fully formed. More often, though, it’s a character or a scene or both. A couple of days ago it was two characters and a scene. I lay in bed, still half asleep, playing with the idea in my head. When I got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower, I played with it some more. When I got out of the shower, I went into my office, wrote down the web of ideas my spidery muse had spun for me, and then started work on that day’s writing session.
It doesn’t always happen that way, though. Sometimes they come unbidden when I’m getting into bed, and that’s why I keep a Moleskine and a pen on my bedside table.
Never had that happen while exercising, however.
Gary
This is a great post, and I definitely believe in the value of reading for writers, and reading widely. Though I doubt I would ever burn 500 calories without noticing, no matter how great a creative burst! I don’t know what I find more fascinating, the whole story arch or the 500 calories.
Gary, I’ve had nights where I couldn’t sleep because the voices would not quiet sufficiently. As I wrote last week or the week before, I’ve also been awoken in the middle of the night with the sudden solution to a difficult plot problem. I usually just get up, turn on the computer, and write it down really quick. Sometimes they hold up, sometimes they don’t.
And this time I was sitting! haha
Dolly, I noticed it this morning when I awoke. haha I swung my legs out of bed and thought, What the hellfire did I do to myself yesterday!
Then I remembered.
To work out all of that acid, I jumped right back on that elliptical pony and gave it another ride for its life.
Quite amusing, really. I only did 400 calories today because tomorrow is spin class. After today, I have the first two acts of the novella planned out loosely, which is really nice. I know how it ends and I know several of the twists. I love the tension that will exist for my main character and those involved, but there is a problem with…
… wait… I just figured it out.
I’ve had ideas for stories come to me in different ways than most are use too. Some come to me while trying to do pathworkings. Other times my story ideas come to me while doing housework.
Lately, however, I’ve been helping a friend brainstorm his stories and he mine–so it’s like having some type of brain trust and that’s been helping me. He helped with my canticle that I couldn’t figure out and now just have to tweak.
There’s something to be said for a writing collaboration.