A few days ago I woke up with a story in my head. Well, the idea for one at least.
That may not seem like a very surprising thing–especially for a writer–but for me, it felt like a major victory.
As may have been evident from my inability to even generate anything that I’d be willing to post on our Friday Writing Sprints, I have been in a bit of a creativity dead zone. Well, maybe more of a creativity black-hole or maybe a giant creativity void. Whatever it was, it seriously impacted my storytelling abilities.
I blame the pandemic.
And work.
But then Sunday morning, somewhere between asleep and awake, the remainder of a dream fluttered around in my head. I discarded the actual person who had featured in the dream and thought up a new character to fill the role. Then I thought of a hook that could turn the dream snippet into a real story.
Then I started to think I might really have something.
All day long, as I did laundry and weeded the garden, I thought about the dream-that-might-be-a-story. I thought of bits and pieces that stuck with me long enough that I could even write them down. Definitely a major step forward.
I don’t want to jinx anything or get into the details, but let’s just say I have two strangers, who don’t trust each other in the least, who have been forced into circumstances where they have to protect and get another person to safety within a time constraint and against as-yet-undecided external forces.
I haven’t been this excited about a possible story in quite some time.
I credit our recent discussions that we’ve had about plot, as well as a book I just finished reading which should have been a primer for how to write a story with increasing conflict, escalation, and tension, while keeping things fun and interesting.
NaNoWriMo starts in about six weeks, so this is the perfect timing for a story idea. The time pressure of having to meet a word count every day should keep me from falling into whatever the writer’s version of “analysis paralysis” is.
Nothing but good times ahead, right?
So, have you had any bursts of inspiration lately?
Eight Ladies Writing 
So excited to see you with a premise in mind! Is this a Contemporary or an historical? I can’t wait to see where this goes!
Thanks, Jeanne. The story is Contemporary, though I’m not certain if it is on the caper end of the spectrum or more serious. Time will tell on that.
That’s the lovely thing about a premise. It can develop in so many directions.
Glad to hear that one’s dreams are good for something besides taking out the mental trash! And what great timing with NaNo coming up. Have fun!
Thanks, Kay.
Unfortunately, I’m in the same void/black hole you were in and I’m envious that you’ve found a way out of it. I wish I had an idea to go for NANO. Maybe one will hit me. I’m so happy for you that your creative juices flowing again.
I really like the sound of your story idea, Elizabeth. Delighted to hear that your flash of inspiration came at just the right time for NaNo.
I had a small burst of inspiration a couple of weeks ago. My new novella, The Seeds of Exile, has been through copy edits and is inching its way toward being ready to publish. I intended to make it a free read for my newsletter subscribers, but deep down I knew it was the wrong story to use in that way, because it’s the sequel to a book I’d like readers to buy (Seeds of Power) and precursor to a book I haven’t finished writing yet (Seeds of Destiny). So I decided to publish Exile and gave myself a day to try to think up a better story for my newsletter. To my amazement, I did! I decided to go for it, and I’ve been doing a kind of one-woman NaNo.
I hope you decide to give your story idea a go, and that when the time’s right you’ll share more details 🙂
Jilly, how great that you have a book to publish AND a new story for your newsletter. Good luck with your one-woman NaNo. I look forward to reading the results.