Writing is a private ordeal. We sit at the computer and will a world into existence with words. It’s a Herculean task. The loneliness which comes with writing isn’t often fun. But some of it is necessary.
I’m not a believer in the idea of writing as ‘magic.’ Our fictional characters are not living beings, they do not speak through a floaty muse who whispers into our ear, and they are not in charge of where a story goes. Sometimes it might feel that way, but really that’s just your intuition and creative instinct helping you along. Likewise, books do not write themselves — that’s a notion created by people who want to diminish the hard work it takes to write a book. Art can sometimes feel like magic, both to the artist and the admirer. But work comes first. And before the work, there is the idea.
Ideas are constantly evolving, shapeless, amazing things. They can seemingly come out of nowhere or be purposefully crafted in order to appease a perceived desire from the audience. Ideas are a little bit like magic. Because, like magic, once you understand the trick, the awe you once had for the idea fades away.
I have a little notebook full of ideas for stories. Some of them are basic concepts, some are fully formed stories where all I gotta do is fill in the words. This book is a very private, well-guarded thing for me. You are not allowed to read it. Hands off. But no idea is private forever, so long as you intend for your writing to be read.
I want to explore how to test the idea, keep it safe, and then let it go in three stages.
The Life of the Idea
1) You love your idea and are ready to take it into production stage. First, test your idea on some ‘constant readers’ and writer friends. Gauge reactions. See if there’s a weakness to the idea you’re not seeing. It’s just elevator pitch territory. Don’t go too far into detail, don’t spoil the idea for yourself or for them. Ideas are fragile. Don’t ‘it’s probably not too good’ that thing either. Fucking stand up for your idea. You believe in it, right?
Make sure to ask a decent number of people. Writer Friend #1 might say ‘what’s the market? I don’t see it’ and Writer Friend #2 might say ‘that’s so you. You gotta write that story.’ No one sounding board, however trusted they might be, can be trusted with determining the fate of your idea. By talking to a number of people, you’ll know if you’re ready for writing the story and if it’ll get the intended audience reaction you’re looking for. And you know what, even if none of them are in love with the idea, that doesn’t mean you should abandon it. If you’re in love with it, that’s what matters most.
2) After testing your idea on trusted writers and readers, now you gotta run dark. Write with the door closed, both literally and figuratively. Only surface to talk about how your idea is transforming into a readable story if you’re actively seeking advice — because advice is what you’re gonna get. The idea has never been more fragile than it is now. It’s something a little bit like magic in how it exists within you. Your confidence about writing it can take some hits and maybe you’ll get blocked here and there, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the idea is at fault. Shit happens.
I stress the need to go dark unless you’re seriously on the lookout for some feedback. Reader friends will want to know the twist you’re plotting, but explaining it and then judging their reactions will only hurt your enthusiasm for what you have planned. Likewise, writer friends mean well but they will flood your head with competing notions about how your idea ‘would be better if…’ The idea, fragile as it is, can’t always take this much outside influence. It is better, in my experience, to simply update on writing in general while mid-book instead of explaining how the story is shaping up.
The idea is yours still. You want to keep it that way as long as possible. It won’t be yours much longer.
3) After writing the idea into a story, you have to then rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite some more until the story becomes a book (rewriting is a subject for another day). And then, hopefully, the book finds its way out into the world. And now it’s no longer your idea. You can claim ownership but you can’t tell people how they’re meant to read it, what to take away from it, or whether or not they’re allowed to be mad at you for killing off so-and-so in such a way. The idea belongs to the world now and the world will do with it what it wants. With some luck, they’ll see what you originally saw in the idea, and it will inspire them to shape new ideas of their own. And that, I suppose, is kind of magical.
Cultivate your ideas. Test them out on friends. Give them the best chance to succeed. But most of all, protect them while you can. It’s not important for the entire world to know and love your idea. It’s important that you love it. And if that means keeping outside influences away, then do what you can to build up some defenses around the idea until it’s ready to stand on its own.
A good book doesn’t need or want its author to speak for it. But a good idea needs its creator to protect it until it’s complete.
Hey,
Zack here. Check out Kelly’s epic kaiju trilogy, In the Shadow of Extinction. If you like giant monsters, world shattering events, life or death combat, and moments of stunning emotion and social commentary, then you owe it to yourself to check it out!
