So it’s well after one in the morning here and I should be sound asleep, but my brain won’t quit producing ideas. After about an hour of just lying in bed staring up at the ceiling with the itchy feeling that I really ought to be writing everything down, I finally gave up. Apparently, it’s just going to be one of those nights.
This, my friends, is probably one of the few downsides to this brave new world of publishing we’re entering. The sheer possibilities are enough to keep my brain busy for the foreseeable future. Thank God for alarm clocks. 😛 (And coffee, but that’s a different story.)
In this particular case, I’ve had a smattering of ideas pertaining to The Guardians and several other upcoming projects, but the bulk of it has to do with a short story I wrote several years ago. I was thinking about my backlist this evening, and I remembered one story in particular. Out of the blue, I started having all these ideas for expanding that one story into a 3-5 series of shorts.
The funny thing is that I haven’t re-read that particular story in at least a year and a half and yet some of the key details are apparently still so embedded in my subconcsious that I’m spinning out a story with actual plot details. (I checked a few minutes ago–just to see if I could soothe my mind into some semblance of order. Didn’t work.)
Why it’s all hitting me now, I have no idea. This afternoon would have been more convenient. But…I guess you can’t argue with inspiration when it strikes.
(You end up missing too many important plot notes, character notes, and dialogue snippets that way; they just vanish like an ephemeral mist. Trust me, I know. I’m still hoping a few of them come back to me.)
Loss of sleep aside, the cool thing is that I’m excited about this short series. The original story was fun and expanding it will be even more fun. I can’t wait to go to sleep so I can wake up tomorrow and get crackin’ on it!