inspiration or -- not

[marycatelli]

Some of the story you can piece together from the original idea.  Or ideas, when they're sticky. 

Still, even when you have a whole slew of ideas, you can charge along through the outline to the point where you know something has to happen here -- you haven't even gotten your hero and heroine to meet, which means their trek across the plains, chased by merciless bomb-throwing anarchists, has a slight problem getting started.

So you thrash around with the world-building and the plot elements and the characters and you think -- I know, they will X!

And you like it.

But do you like it just because it lets you go on?  Or because it's really inspired?  Lots of writing books warn --sagely -- about the bright idea you just had because it's so easy to reach for a cliche, which slides graciously into the place as familiar and well-fitting.

I hate wrestling with these questions.  It's hard to evaluate your own creativity in the throes of it.

Comments

[spiderling.livejournal.com]

Cliches can be fixed later, charge ahead!

[marycatelli]

Except that plot decisions made here will structure the entire rest of the novel. Whether the Mad Scientist babbles his secret plan makes an enormous difference in the hero's knowledge for the entire rest of the story.

[spiderling.livejournal.com]

In that case, less is more. I recently cut a scene down a lot because it kept giving too much away. Trust your judgement. And even still, it can all be rewritten.

[marycatelli]

it's when your judgment gives you the definite maybe that it's a problem.

Anyway, the outline has no room for extraneous detail so leaving it out will also affect the story