Why I Never Delete Old Ideas
The first time I realized my father killed for a living, I found a severed finger in the garage.
Opening line.
That's all I had. Just this line that blew into my head. So I wrote it down and started a file. Gave it a name like "Dad," and there it sat. Dear, old Dad. Gotta love him.
THEN, I remembered from WAY back when, I mean at least five years ago, I had three chapters of a book about a father seeking redemption while suffering from Alzheimer's, in the fits and starts of clarity he had. And a woman who was unsure whether to let him in, but then gets the decision forced from her when, in a rage, he breaks a nurse's arm in the nursing home he's in and has nowhere else to go.
And VOILA!!!!! I had the book that went with the opening line.
I mean, not the whole book, but a book. Something to work on.
And that is why I have zillions (not really, but something close) of files on my computer. Sometimes I even forget what's in 'em. But I never, ever, ever delete any of them. Because you never know.
Which got me thinking . . . the brain is so utterly amazing. Were these two always waiting to be connected in some quantum physics sense, and the cognitive portion of my brain just needed to make the connection? Is that how it works?
And does this insane thing happen to anyone else? And is anyone else out there an "idea pack rat"?
Opening line.
That's all I had. Just this line that blew into my head. So I wrote it down and started a file. Gave it a name like "Dad," and there it sat. Dear, old Dad. Gotta love him.
THEN, I remembered from WAY back when, I mean at least five years ago, I had three chapters of a book about a father seeking redemption while suffering from Alzheimer's, in the fits and starts of clarity he had. And a woman who was unsure whether to let him in, but then gets the decision forced from her when, in a rage, he breaks a nurse's arm in the nursing home he's in and has nowhere else to go.
And VOILA!!!!! I had the book that went with the opening line.
I mean, not the whole book, but a book. Something to work on.
And that is why I have zillions (not really, but something close) of files on my computer. Sometimes I even forget what's in 'em. But I never, ever, ever delete any of them. Because you never know.
Which got me thinking . . . the brain is so utterly amazing. Were these two always waiting to be connected in some quantum physics sense, and the cognitive portion of my brain just needed to make the connection? Is that how it works?
And does this insane thing happen to anyone else? And is anyone else out there an "idea pack rat"?
posted by Erica Orloff at 3:34 PM
12 Comments:
Dear Erica,
Faulkner saw a little girl coming out of tree with soiled underwear and that was the very seed for THE SOUND AND THE FURY. Did the sonic boom, the gathering of the rest of that masterpiece connect that instant of the child? I think it did.
I don't know if you remember TOMMY MARBACH'S SON, but it was my uncle coming out of his York Avenue apartment, hungover and lighting a cigarette that was the seed for that particular story. As E.M. Forester once said, Everything is connected.
Gerry
Gerry:
God, I love stuff like that. Like it's all some cosmic interconnected something or other (how's that for scientific?).
E
Ah, well, scientific...
"I believe stories are found things, like fossils in the ground...Stories aren't souvenir tee-shirts or GameBoys. Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer's job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible...."
--Stephen King
So, Erica, sometimes the experience is like finding a single tooth of some ancient beast, only later to dig and uncover the rest of it.
In other words, the stories have always been there. All we have to do is excavate and transcribe.
Oh, Jude . . . thank you SO much for sharing that. The description is so very much like my experience.
--Erica, with newfound respect for Stephen King (whom Jude really likes!).
An idea pack rat. LMAO. I hate clutter. My idea of a relaxing afternoon is diving into a full cupboard and making sure that at the end of the day it's half empty and a call is placed to the 'Goodwill' :P
BUT, on two, very sloppily assembled (yep, did it myself) shelves right beside me I have a gazillion spiral bound notebooks.Each one contains an opening line, or sometimes a scene from the very middle of an unborn book. I started doing this before I even had a computer and it hadn't particularly occurred to me that I might like to try my hand at writing a book.
Sometimes I open one at random and the story immediately leaps into my head. More often I read the few lines and go "WT...?"
And yes, I've considered myself insane for it, but at least it appears I'm insane in good company!
Have to cast my vote with Jude as far as King goes. Even if you're not a particular fan of his fiction (I've enjoyed most, but not all) his On Writing book is a very enjoyable and informative read.
Hi Lainey:
That's what a love about blogging. We all work in isolation and it's nice knowing we're not completely crazy. :-)
E
Oh Erica, I love that opening line of yours, I wish I'd thought of it! It's great - worth waiting for a good story to fall into place. I'm an idea pack rat to some extent, but often I get ideas for stories because of the current world/political/social situation. Translating those ideas into victorian murders can be challenging, but so far, I've killed off a couple of right wing pundits and various fear mongering politicians. I always change their identity so they aren't recognizable. But I know who they are ...
Emily
Do you watch HEROES, Erica? Because I swear, you could be on that show. Your superpower is this amazing ability you have to conjure up a story. I still remember you helping me with my trilogy proposal for ROGUE and the way that you...VOILA! came up with books #2 and #3 from thin air.
Emily:
I am impressed that you can transport them! That is fantastic. I occasionally do stuff inspired by present events--but they take place now. A lot easier to do, I think.
E
karm:
Thanks. No hero here. Just someone with WAY too much imagination. :-)
E
Yupp. It happened to me last week.
I got two different ideas a month ago, and last week they were combined. It is pretty cool ideas too.
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