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Saturday, October 22nd, 2022 11:20 pmIt's a known thing that ideas come in the shower. But why do the really big ones always come in the shower that I'm rushing through because I have to dash off to work?
I've had this not-quite-an-idea tickling around for a while now, loosely inspired by Sister Hazel's "Sword and Shield". Recently it acquired a second song, and then a couple more, but it still wasn't more than the beginnings of a writing mix and an image of a solitary being staggering through a blasted, burning landscape. Then in the shower today, it suddenly exploded, one idea kicking off another and another and another, and now I've got a rough scenario, a decent chunk of world-building, and enough snippets of dialogue to get a general feel for the two main characters. It even has a working title, albeit not a very good one. I was very nearly late to work because of scribbling it all down, and I had to finish my notes after I got there, which I normally never do.
I wonder what it would be like to let the process sprawl and carry on to its natural conclusion, instead of having to cut it short because I have to get ready for work? This never happens; I get ideas in the shower all the time, but this kind of cascade only happens when I'm in a tearing hurry to get somewhere. Possibly there's something about being in a tearing hurry that's a catalyst for this sort of thing, just add shower.
As a novel, it's not quite ready to go; I still need character names, and I'm going to have to do some research into angels. (Incidentally, if anyone reading this knows of a brief, simplistic introduction to angelic hierarchies and naming conventions in various classical theologies, I'd love some recommendations.) But other than that, it's about 90% percolated. I wasn't planning on writing anything for NaNo, and the research would probably put a stop to that in any case, but it almost feels like an option.
I've had this not-quite-an-idea tickling around for a while now, loosely inspired by Sister Hazel's "Sword and Shield". Recently it acquired a second song, and then a couple more, but it still wasn't more than the beginnings of a writing mix and an image of a solitary being staggering through a blasted, burning landscape. Then in the shower today, it suddenly exploded, one idea kicking off another and another and another, and now I've got a rough scenario, a decent chunk of world-building, and enough snippets of dialogue to get a general feel for the two main characters. It even has a working title, albeit not a very good one. I was very nearly late to work because of scribbling it all down, and I had to finish my notes after I got there, which I normally never do.
I wonder what it would be like to let the process sprawl and carry on to its natural conclusion, instead of having to cut it short because I have to get ready for work? This never happens; I get ideas in the shower all the time, but this kind of cascade only happens when I'm in a tearing hurry to get somewhere. Possibly there's something about being in a tearing hurry that's a catalyst for this sort of thing, just add shower.
As a novel, it's not quite ready to go; I still need character names, and I'm going to have to do some research into angels. (Incidentally, if anyone reading this knows of a brief, simplistic introduction to angelic hierarchies and naming conventions in various classical theologies, I'd love some recommendations.) But other than that, it's about 90% percolated. I wasn't planning on writing anything for NaNo, and the research would probably put a stop to that in any case, but it almost feels like an option.
