When Stories Attack
There I was, driving calmly to the Evil Day Job, trying to drink a little of my coffee when stopped and allowing my mind to drift before I arrived at work and had to focus. I never knew it was heading my way, really. I didn’t anticipate it happening and had no defenses in place. I never even heard it coming!
My story ATTACKED!
All of a sudden my mind wandered from what my email might contain and what the cafeteria might have for lunch to the story I’ve currently been pondering. In a flash of inspiration, a beautiful idea for the steampunk story I’m working on emerged into being. A lovely solution to a problem I’d been trying to figure out, elegantly solved.
There was only one problem — I was driving and had no way to record or preserve it. My story attacked me and I had no defense! By virtue of endlessly repeating the basic ideas to myself, I managed to get to work, park, avoid locking my keys in the car and get to my desk in time to email the ideas to myself before I forgot them. Barely.
Now I have to admit, I thought I might be alone. A solitary victim of a story gone aggressive. But when I talked to my fellow Witchy Chicks, it turned out NOT to be the case. They had also had stories attack them when they were least expecting it!
I now have a small notebook and pen stashed in the car. And in my purse. And in my desk. Oh, and in the bathroom at home. I want to be prepared the next time I’m attacked.
So tell me — have you ever been attacked by your stories? When did they go on the offensive? What did you do?
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I have a digital voice recorder now. It’s with me every where I go and fits easily in my backpack or purse.
by Dawn Montgomery May 22nd, 2009 at 7:47 pm