From Seed to Tree
Kind of hit the motherload of story ideas recently. Had three in the space of a couple of days. One was a very short noir bit that almost wrote itself. The second was more problematic. I wrote down the idea, and honestly thought it was a great idea for a good sci-fi tale.
I took my own advice, wrote down everything I could think on the subject. Put them on bits of paper. Got off to a roaring great start, and then sputtered and stalled.
It just wasn't going anywhere. So guess what I did? Took a little time out and followed my own guidance again, and just wrote. And it was still rubbish. It was dull, confusing, and I didn't particularly like the main character.
The thing was, I knew I had something, and I was damned if I was going to abandon ship before I was sure it was going to sink.
Over the next few days I had a few ideas. I wrote them down as usual and then started fitting them in.
Suddenly my story was spinning off in new directions. I was slashing and burning and rebuilding until it finally started to take shape. The next thing was to go through and check for continuity as I had made so many changes.
When I read through for my next re-write I thought, "I like this".
I still needed to do the final edits but it's definitely something I'd be happy to put in my next collection.
The point is, if you have an idea you really like and you are sure it's going to make a good story in the end, don't abort. Put it aside if need be, add in ideas you really may not be sure of, renovate to your hearts content, but don't give up on it. Your first instinct is always right, just give it a chance and it will unfold and finally make you smile. After all, you are a writer.
As for the third idea, I need to marinate in it for awhile, but I know I am on to something.
