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Have you ever had a scene snippet pop into your head — vivid as real life — and not known where the heck it fits? Or even it it fits at all?
This happens to me again and again, not only at the start of a work (where often a visual snippet is the very seed of the story) but even very late into the process.
Some of these snippets are duds, of course, but it’s surprising how often they’re on target. It’s not uncommon for them to answer questions I haven’t even thought of, which is one reason why it can be hard to place them at first.
I was thinking about this today because of one particular snippet that came to me a good six months ago, one that involved a secret door. It excited me at first, until my logical mind kicked in and said, “But a secret door doesn’t make sense.” So I ignored it, even though the snippet came back to me several more times — before bed, while paging through an art book, and in that all-time great snippet-studio, the shower.
And then last night I hit a snag — for which that snippet turned out to be the perfect solution.
Spooky, no? But it’s this kind of spookiness that makes me fall in love with writing all over again.
Alchemy Pie 
My whole WIP is based on a snippet! They’re wonderful, if worrying sometimes. Congrats on finding the perfect fit!
I think that’s often the very best place to start! And I’m not surprised to hear it works that way for you, too. Some of your scenes with Caro now play like movies in my own head!
That’s so nice! Thank you. 🙂
Yes! I have had a whole lot of those lately too. And the snippets seem COMPLETELY unrelated and I think what the heck? But one particularly bizarre snip is now fitting in perfectly with another bizarre snip and I am thinking, “spooky” too. It is all very weird but I love that mystery about writing.
It’s a pleasure to know I’m in such good company! And neat to hear that your snippets are piecing together in ways you couldn’t anticipate. That kind of spooky makes me happy.
It is lovely when gifts like that appear, and good that you recognize them for what they are. And boy – driving the car or in the shower are two of the places I get good ideas, in addition to the “while falling asleep time”, for which I keep pen & paper handy and scrawl notes in the dark.
So happy to see you here! And yes, they are gifts, aren’t they? Love thinking of you scribbling away in the dark. (I’ve tried this, but alas, my scribbles don’t usually make sense in the morning.)
Snippet as solution! It gives me chills — in a good way. You’re clearly doing something right to keep your muse this generous!
Maybe it’s just that I’m better at listening to her than I used to be. When I first started writing, I tended to ignore the stuff that didn’t fit, but I’ve learned since then to keep my mind open to it. And that’s often where the gold is. Who knew?
Hi Amy. I love it when our minds create in this way. How intuitive! I once woke up in the morning with an image of lemons in my head and couldn’t shake it. From this grew a story.
How glad I am to read that your secret door not only makes sense now, but also provides a solution!
Sue, so wonderful to see you here! I’m savoring your lemon story. For me, dreaming about a story is always a good sign. And it’s partly through my talks with you that I’ve come to trust my unconscious mind so much.