If there’s one thing that I should have learned by now, it’s not to trust the voices in my head.
They have their own agenda, I’m just the long-suffering person who writes it down and tries to make sense of it all. Now, thanks to them leading me in one direction and then turning sharply in another, I have a dilemma. Twice.
It had all started so well.
A while ago, I had an idea for a story about a man who was stranded alone on a distant planet after his ship was destroyed. As far as I could see the story would be concerned with his efforts to survive while he waited for rescue and the things he discovered about his new home along the way.
I started writing it and soon discovered that the narrative was veering away from this premise.
Other characters crept in and as the reasons for his situation became clearer, I could see that there was a problem.
I initially called the story All By Myself, which was fine while he was. Now, he isn’t and I can’t help thinking that I need to modify the title to reflect that change of status. Otherwise, it’s slightly misleading.
The trouble is, I can’t think of a different one.
The second instance of the same problem comes from a piece that I’ve had to start writing. It may sound crazy to non-writers but there really was no choice. The premise came into my head at full volume and blocked out all my other ideas. It didn’t subside until I had typed over 3500 words.
Now it’s gone quiet again, I can get back to what I was doing. Before I was so rudely interrupted.
The new idea was triggered by my re-reading one of my new Kalyn Deere stories. I had a flash of inspiration, about writing the same basic plot as a different story.
Let me explain.
In the original, one of Kalyn’s friends is infiltrated into a criminal gang, because she bears a resemblance to one of its members. She has to learn a lot about the person she’s replacing, to be convincing.
My new twist on that premise was a homeless man who finds the body of his doppelganger and decides to take over his identity.
The title for the Kalyn Deere story was Cuckoo in the Nest. Which would be perfect for the new one. But, if I pinch it, or even if I don’t, I will need to find a different one that means the same thing for the other one!
And hope that while I’m doing that, I don’t get any more ideas.
Next week, I’ll be reviewing the new novel from one of my favourite authors.
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