The Structure of an Idea

I would not advise anyone in brainstorming a story while driving to work on a dark autumn morning as it flirts unnecessarily with the possibility of author existence failure. In the least it would qualify as a bad writing career move. Yet, with traffic increasing, with sunrise an hour away,  keeping to the left, passing on the right and keeping my eyes fixed in front of me, I brainstormed against my better judgement. Could not be helped, and at least it does not happen often.

The inspiration was not for a novel, but for a short story, or possibly a short-movie. It certainly can't be a novel. It started as an incredibly disturbing idea, but as I tinkered with it the shade of an idea it became something nominally reminiscent of Philip K Dick until I finally thought of making it a rather dark Christian allegory of some sort (allegories are a form of story-telling I'm admittedly not a fan of most of the time). As I began to close up the brainstorming session (already firmly planted behind my work PC) I realized that as an allegory it had been done. I decided to dial back my story-processing away from that avenue, which was an interesting experience.

It's not easy to chart, within my head, the development of a story. Imagine an idea, then connecting more ideas to that idea, then writing them on a tennis ball, and throwing them to the idea to see which stick. Or imagine a seed growing into a tropical forest. That's a brainstorming session for me. A lot of good ideas with no idea how to use them. This is why the brainstorming is partly impossible to control; it has a life of its own.

The bleak image that sparked this was the logical conclusion of something on my mind, but the story moved away from that for now. Several other themes began steeling their way into the story. The noir ascetic, which I'm admittedly a fan of, began crawling into the setting as well (at this stage it was still, in essence, a possible short film plot). I began imagining what would create such a world, and it went from fantasy (a genre I prefer) to science fiction within a few blocks of driving. I began imaging where, in this world, the main character stands, what his role is in the tale, and how he goes about his business. I also nailed down the structure and scenes and supporting characters.

As it stands now, it could work well as both a short story, or a novella, or a short film. The good thing is I'll have another short-story added to my roster. The bad is I'd have to put aside editing and writing the other stories. But I think I should at least write something, if only to make up for the fact that I brainstormed while driving, even if it was a 25 minute drive. In the end I can only gain by doing it.