Member-only story
Can You Turn a Fleeting Idea Into A Creative Endeavor?
Yes, but you must do the work to make that fleeting idea into something more.
Have you ever had an idea that came and went almost instantly? Or have you had an idea that nagged at you until you addressed it and did something with it?
Sometimes, all you get is a fleeting vision, an idea, an image. Maybe from there, you get a further notion to take it somewhere.
I know this process well. But how I work with it has changed considerably over the years.
For example, back in the late 1990s, I had a fleeting idea regarding a sorcerer racing across a field, chased by a rather large number of armed pursuers. He turns, faces them, and takes them out. But in the process — his power gets lost.
This would lead to The Source Chronicles. But my creation of the first book, and the ongoing work on the series, would be done by the seat of my pants (writing as a pantser).
While watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a fleeting idea popped into my head. What if you created a whole lot of clones to fight a war — and then the war ended? What would become of those survivors? This notion led to me creating my Forgotten Fodder series. This time, however, rather than writing as a pantser, I planned out…
