Last week I touched upon the seed of a story, and how we need to keep an eye out for them. But why the seed analogy when you’re talking about a jungle adventure, Mike? (I hear you ask.) Well… that jungle we’re about to head into? Every single tree and bush and vine that we are going to come across? THOSE are the fruition of those seeds. THEY are the finished novels… the short stories… the works of fiction and non-fiction that we are going to be inundated with.
Our job is to wade through that hot, sticky morass… and find our way to that treasure… OUR story. OUR tree that we planted and nourished and let grow into its very own living thing. It’s a jungle out there. And we’re going to add to it. We’ve tossed our seed into the gigantic living mess that is the written word and now, it’s our chance to become part of that strangely addictive world.
So the first question is… how are we getting there? What are we going to use to travel through this jungle that we know and love? (And we DO know it and love it, because to become an author… you HAVE to be a reader). We’ve spent many hours in this jungle, walking the well-laid paths before us. Looking at what’s possible… seeing how tame or wild a story can become.
Maybe you’ve possibly stepped off that path and dabbled in the wilder side, writing fanfic, or a short story or two… and gotten a taste of what’s possible. The allure of writing that piece that will entangle someone and make them come back, often… is visceral. There’s nothing like that taste of, “I can do this.” to whet the adventurer’s appetite.
Tomorrow, we’ll step off on our adventure, choosing our form of transportation… how we’re going to get there. The software choices are endless (as well as the cost of each). Hope your bags are packed, because we step off on this journey tomorrow!
Leave a Reply