Listening to Neil Gaiman

Stories can be anything! They can go anywhere. They can be about anyone. They can make sense or no sense at all; they can follow a linear path or meander here, there, and everywhere. I have ideas in my head. I want them to make sense. I want to anchor them in reality. I want to ponder every detail. But the thing with stories is, none of that is necessary. One thing it has to be is honest. I have to be vulnerable. Writing bears my soul. If I hide my soul from my writing, I will stifle the creative flow from mind to page and what I end up with will be less. Less than the potential story I have swirling around inside. When I pour myself into it, I allow the words to create the image in my mind in the minds of others. I create stories that are rich, engaging, and connecting, that speak to the reader on a personal level. They connect the reader to the character, the reader to the plot, the reader to…me.

I have a brilliant idea for a book. I have a plot, with a storyline, beginning to end. I have a character, as vibrant and interesting as her life is boring and drab. I have scenes that play, one into the other. The book is there. It needs no more than for me to tip-tap-tap it onto the page. However, I am holding myself back.

I have some little bits and pieces to work out, such as developing the characters enough to know how each would, individually, respond to one another or a situation or circumstance. Taking time away from the plot to imagine and develop the characters is the best investment I can put into my story right here, right now. That is not putting the story off… it is building it from the outside in. To take the time to build up underdeveloped characters now is to nourish and tend to the story.

I have another limitation holding me back. I keep wanting to fit my stories into such a narrow box. How would this actually happen? What did/does the world really look like (e.g. our world)? How do the physics of this mechanic work? What would it be like to experience this? Great questions! And not to be taken lightly. But they are not questions that should stop me from imagining, and therefore from writing.

My solution? If you can know it, research it. Don’t be afraid to put some writing days into researching. This, like character development, is part of the process. It adds rather than subtracts. But…but but but...there is also another option. I can just write. Sure, I want my final writing to have integrity. Yes, doing the research first could save a lot of time editing and reworking sections to enhance accuracy. But if it is stopping me from writing- if I am burning a hole in my brain with ideas that I can’t get to the page because I can’t answer those questions- well then, maybe just getting it out is the best thing to do. Honestly, though, I think I need to lean into research days.

Character development and research. Two small, achievable goals. There are more areas of improvement that would enhance my writing, but I cannot focus on the whole elephant now, can I? One bite at a time. In this case, two. So, today I will start with character development. Once I am satisfied, maybe tomorrow, maybe a week from now, I will research the questions I have compiled about the world in which my characters reside. Physics, biology, geography, police procedures… heavy yet fascinating subjects. Then, armed with the information I need to proceed forward, I will put more words to the page. I will proceed with confidence because I will have taken the time to fill in the gaps that are currently missing. I will have removed two significant roadblocks that have been making progress arduous, if not downright impossible. I will be able to write the scene because I will know the characters well enough to know what they would do and say and I will understand their environment well enough to describe it and the interplay between character and environment.

I feel good now. Hopeful. Encouraged. Energized. I know these feelings will ebb and flow, but right now they are flowing. I am going to take advantage of that while I can. We’ll see what comes of it! Off to do great things. Bye for now!