So, here's what happened a few days ago:
I'm writing a story, a lovely 13k word fantasy which I've been toying around with for the past 6 months or so. Seemed my timing was spot on, 'cuz I managed to crank it out much faster than I had expected (thought I'd give it about a month, had it done in a week)- seriously, I was in love with this thing, to the point where I'd have to stretch my fingers so I'd stop mashing up the words (Seemed I didn't have the typing skill to keep up with the mental picture).
I'd had the plot figured out from day one- It's about a rescue mission, saving a VIP from the bad guys via Faustian bargain, boom and done, but something else happened. On the last day of typing up the rough draft, a tiny invisible shuriken, made out of epiphony, flew out of the darkness and into my head- A twist?
Not just any twist, but the twist- the one which occurs to you on the drive home, or in the middle of the night, or maybe even mid-coitus- and tells you that it's time to sacrifice an hour or two of precious sleep so that you might nourish it into realization.
I'd had no intentions or knowledge of this new development. The plot was meant to play out just as I'd intended it: 1-Bad guys have us beat, oh no! 2- Black magic and corruption, secret weapon against bad guys! 3- It worked, we're saved, and the end.
Anyways, the story took a massive left turn, not even 2k words before the end, and I was baffled at how well it all fit together. Suddenly, I found myself having flashbacks of clutching a pillow in terror while discovering that Bruce Willis was a ghost, that Mr. Bemis broke his glasses, that Madeline Usher had been alive when she was entombed...
After clawing out ample amounts of hair and skin, I finished the story. It seemed almost too perfect, as though the planning of this story had been taking place far longer than my idle thoughts leading up to its writing had assumed, and I was hoping you all could share similar experiences- times when the story you've been working on suddenly pulls out the bloody hook on the door handle from behind its back, a hidden element or twist which surprises you just as much as it would (hopefully) surprise the reader. Do share!
I'm writing a story, a lovely 13k word fantasy which I've been toying around with for the past 6 months or so. Seemed my timing was spot on, 'cuz I managed to crank it out much faster than I had expected (thought I'd give it about a month, had it done in a week)- seriously, I was in love with this thing, to the point where I'd have to stretch my fingers so I'd stop mashing up the words (Seemed I didn't have the typing skill to keep up with the mental picture).
I'd had the plot figured out from day one- It's about a rescue mission, saving a VIP from the bad guys via Faustian bargain, boom and done, but something else happened. On the last day of typing up the rough draft, a tiny invisible shuriken, made out of epiphony, flew out of the darkness and into my head- A twist?
Not just any twist, but the twist- the one which occurs to you on the drive home, or in the middle of the night, or maybe even mid-coitus- and tells you that it's time to sacrifice an hour or two of precious sleep so that you might nourish it into realization.
I'd had no intentions or knowledge of this new development. The plot was meant to play out just as I'd intended it: 1-Bad guys have us beat, oh no! 2- Black magic and corruption, secret weapon against bad guys! 3- It worked, we're saved, and the end.
Anyways, the story took a massive left turn, not even 2k words before the end, and I was baffled at how well it all fit together. Suddenly, I found myself having flashbacks of clutching a pillow in terror while discovering that Bruce Willis was a ghost, that Mr. Bemis broke his glasses, that Madeline Usher had been alive when she was entombed...
After clawing out ample amounts of hair and skin, I finished the story. It seemed almost too perfect, as though the planning of this story had been taking place far longer than my idle thoughts leading up to its writing had assumed, and I was hoping you all could share similar experiences- times when the story you've been working on suddenly pulls out the bloody hook on the door handle from behind its back, a hidden element or twist which surprises you just as much as it would (hopefully) surprise the reader. Do share!
