Story Building Part One - Beginnings

If you've ever lived anywhere that freezes over, like New England or Minnesota or Siberia, you've probably had this experience (and if you've only ever been in warm places, lucky you.) Sitting behind the wheel, needing to get somewhere, but the windows are iced over. The heater is on full blast, the dashboard light shows the rear defroster is active, but for the moment you're going nowhere. You're keenly aware of the slowly warming rush of air from the vents, the cold seat on which you sit wrapped in layers, and you really start to notice how much the car needs a good cleaning. There's a gum wrapper on the floor, an empty plastic bottle in a cup holder, and a bit of dust gathering in every nook and cranny of the dashboard. But before long, a small piece of the windshield becomes translucent and you start to see the outside world. You notice the garage door first, not too exciting except that the fact you can see it means you're almost ready to hit the road; things are about to start happening. The clear spot widens and you can see more of your house. The dog is watching you from the front window, no doubt wishing he could come along for the ride even as you wish you could go back inside with him where it's warm. A single bird flies by, and you wonder how long it will be until spring fills the air with them. Neighbors emerge from their houses to get their mail or newspaper or start defrosting their own vehicles. Little by little, you can see more of the world around you, and as that happens you pay less and less attention to the gum wrapper and the plastic bottle and the dust. When enough of the windows are clear, you drop the car into gear and you're off on the day's adventure, your mind on the road and the traffic, all thoughts of cleaning forgotten.

Beginning to write is like that. Not just the start of a new project, but the start of each new session. I often write at night, after the rest of the house is asleep. The dog, laid out on the floor near my wife's side of the bed, snores and occasionally taps the footboard with his restless legs as he chases something in his dreams. The furnace or the air conditioner (depending on the season) kicks on and blows for a bit and shuts off. Somewhere in the distance a truck passes or a siren wails, and in front of me is a blank white screen, the digital equivalent of an empty page, featureless as a frozen windshield. But then a window slowly starts to open and in my mind I can see and hear and smell ... someplace else. If I'm patient, the window widens and bit by bit I can see a story unfold, and when I do, I write it down. I can still look around and see the room I'm writing in, of course, just as I can look around the inside of the car while I'm driving, but most of my attention is on the other side of the window, until it fogs over again and I'm done for the day.

I don't start with an outline. Over the years I've read a lot of articles about the process of writing, and I've paid a lot of attention to how other writers (especially the successful ones) go about it. I'm always curious about how they decorate their writing space, what music they listen to, whether they prefer pen and paper to computers, whether they research first or just wing it. What I've learned is that their processes are theirs. There is no right way, and the only wrong way to be a writer is to not write anything. Long story short, if anyone wants my advice about beginnings, it is simply this: begin today. If you want to be a writer, write something. If you're the kind of writer who needs an outline, start with that. If you're the kind who starts with the ending and works backward, then do that. If you don't know what kind you are yet, try ... everything. Trust that you will figure out what works for you, and what doesn't, along the way. But get started, because you can't know until you try.

I prefer a quiet setting. When I listen to music, it's usually instrumental only, at a fairly low volume. Lyrics get in the way; it can be hard to find the words to describe what I'm seeing through that window to another world when someone else's words are flowing into my ears. Sometimes I'll write longhand but mostly I prefer the laptop because I can type faster than I can write, and I can (and occasionally will) type with my eyes closed. But the rules aren't hard and fast. Sometimes I'll write during the day, and other nights I'll put on my headphones and crank up the tunes while banging out a page or two. Even for this one writer, there's not one right way.

So what do I start with? Whatever comes first. If the fog clears and the action has already started, I try to follow along. If not then I'll concentrate on the characters (who's here? why? what are they waiting for?) or the setting (where are we? what's the weather like? how do I feel about being in this particular place at this particular time?) I go into it knowing -- and more importantly, not caring -- that some of the words I put down at the very start are going to be thrown away later, replaced by something better. I get started with whatever I see first, but that isn't always the best starting point, if that makes sense. Like I said, my advice on beginnings is to just begin. See where it goes, and fix it later. Let the window clear a bit, watch what unfolds on the other side, write it down. That's what works for me. Use the comments below to let me know what works for you. As I said, I'm always curious.

Origin Stories Part One: Captain Kissy-Face

Some of the most interesting (and most often told) superhero tales are so-called “origin stories.” An average young man named Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, gaining great powers that will help him fulfill his great responsibilities. An average young man named Steve Rogers volunteers for an experimental procedure that turns the tide of his life, and of a world at war.

Books have origin stories, too. An idea forms, merges with another idea, and with a little luck and lot of work, something great can rise from a humble beginning. I’m always fascinated by the “story behind the story”, and especially by how different the end result can be even for stories that start out very similar, when processed through different creative minds. Take the examples above: both authors started with an idea to transform an average young man into a superhero, but the choices they made (such as time period of the setting and method of transformation) make Spider-Man and Captain America two very different but equally compelling characters. You can read the book for the origin story of Captain Kissy-Face the character, but here’s the origin story of Captain Kissy-Face the book:

I started writing this story due to three basic facts: (1) I like to sketch almost as much as I like to write, (2) I’m not terribly good at drawing, and (3) I love my kids. One summer day I was sketching with my daughters (one of whom is a much better artist than me, which I’ll get into in another post) and I drew a superhero, but I could not get the face to look like anything other than a lumpy potato, which is no way for a hero to look. Finally I gave up and went for the laugh, just giving him super-sized lips and a funny name to match. That worked. Is there anything better than hearing children laughing? I think not.

Months later, another sketch, this time shared with my son. I was again avoiding having to draw a human (potato) face. In fact, this time I avoided the entire human and just went with the suggestion of a human. I labeled this one Invisible Max, and my son thought it was pretty cool (and having your kids think you’re cool, even for a moment, is right up there with laughter on my favorites list.)


Those two drawings were one-offs, but they stuck in my head. I have to admit, there is a lot of weird and wonderful stuff stuck in my head, the trick is to find a way to put any of it to good use. In this case, I did. Months passed again, as they do, and I found myself looking at the calendar, thinking about Christmas gifts. In part to save money, and in part just for the heck of it, I decided to write my children a book as one of their gifts. I sat down to ponder what the story would be. It had to include all three of them as characters somehow, which is tough because they are all so different from one another (again, like stories, people can start from the same point and become unique as they grow.) More than that, it had to convey how much I love them and how proud of them I am, but still be fun. And it had to be fair. Parents will understand this. I didn’t have time to write three books by Christmas, to make each of them the star of their own story, so I needed a story in which they could all star together. I decided to make them superheroes in training. I took elements from their personalities to create their characters’ powers. The drawing of Invisible Max, which I had toyed with writing a story about more than once, finally found a place to fit in. I just needed something to tie the story together, so I added a fourth character and put him in the center. What would his power be? Would he be friend or foe? As I thought about those questions, a lot of the comics I read as a child (and, I admit, as an adult) bubbled in my brain. So did that drawing of Invisible Max, and eventually, also that long-ago sketch of Captain Kissy-Face. And from that, a hero (and a story) was born.