On Today’s Writing Discovery

Forty-two years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. I just thought I’d point that out today, on this most Douglas Adams-like of anniversaries.

I would rather talk (more) about writing.

Yesterday was windy and not too hot, so late afternoon I went kite-flying. It’s about a half-mile walk to the giant open field next to the fire station, and en route I turned over some ideas about “THOD” in my mind. Then, while struggling to keep the kite aloft — it was alternatively too windy or not windy enough — an idea struck me that I hadn’t even considered.

The story of “THOD” spans roughly twenty-five years, from the early-80s to the mid-00’s.

I knew I had a hole in Freddy’s story, circa 1988. And while kite-flying, I figured it out. I knew exactly how to plug the hole. Why was Freddy interested in certain things later in his life? How did Freddy start doing these things? I knew.

When I got back home, I wrote down the ideas.

This morning on the subway, I started sketching out the scene.

I couldn’t find the right start, and if you were to look at the notebook paper, you would find the opening sentence tried out in various guises, three or four times. None of them are particularly good. Finally I said, “Sod it all,” and I skipped ahead to a conversation, and wrote that.

It’s not very good, either.

However, that’s not the important thing.

The important thing is that I have a new piece of the puzzle. A piece that I can hammer into shape.

And I’m really quite excited by this. 🙂

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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