One of the books that appears on almost every list of must-reads about writing craft is “On Writing” by Stephen King. I read it! In it, he mentions when he’s having trouble with a story, he thinks about the book or problem just before he goes to sleep. Then, during the night as his body rests, his “boys in the basement” – i.e. his subconscious – work on finding the solution.
Clearly, it’s a very successful method for Mr. King. But could it help someone like me, an inexperienced writer working on his first novel? I didn’t see how it would hurt for me to try. I’m no Stephen King; of that I am deeply aware. Still, as an aspiring novelist, I’m open to all the help I can get – from the basement, the attic, the out house, wherever!
The first time I tried this method of finding inspiration was about midway in the development of the story line for my novel. It’s not as if I had nothing. I had successfully completed a plot embryo for the nascent fantasy adventure which set out a very high level plan. Unfortunately, as I tried to dig down and turn the 30,000 foot view into a detailed road map, I ran out of gas in my outlining efforts. So, I just started writing, which was great for a good long while. Soon enough, though, my newbie status began showing. The writing bogged down.
I’d spent one particularly long, socially distant, stay-at-home morning struggling to move the ball forward on the tale with more fumbles than carries. It was so frustrating! That afternoon, I changed tack and did more reading from my writer’s process/writing craft list to give myself a break. Deciding to try the boys in the basement method that night, I put a notepad and pen on the bedside table as I readied myself for sleep. Why not? Nothing ventured and all that, right? After my nightly ablutions were done, I mentally reviewed where I was in my story. It wasn’t particularly encouraging. Ha!
Anyway, I turned off the light, and focused on getting a good night’s sleep. About an hour later, my eyes flew wide open. I’d had an idea for the plot! I scribbled it down quickly with a half smile, glad to have made at least some progress. I put my head back down on the pillow fully expecting to sleep the rest of the night through. Suddenly, though, it was as if a dam had burst. I’m not kidding! I had another idea and another and another.
At times, I felt as if I were doing automatic writing. You know, when a clairvoyant channels a spirit that writes through them. I had ideas for the next several scenes. I had ideas for the end of the book. I had ideas about character traits and subplots driven by those traits. It was coming so quickly, I had to rush to get my thoughts down. Some of my scribbles were hard to make out the next day. LoL
It was a true breakthrough. Evidently, my boys, girls or whoever, had just been chomping at the bit for the chance to be put to work. Although that was a singular experience, I have since received some additional bits of overnight inspiration from “the basement.”
I’m not saying any of this nighttime inspiration will result in a good story. They may not even be good ideas. We’ll see! In the meantime, I’ve been able to keep moving forward. So, here’s a heartfelt “Thank you!” to the boys in my basement.
Have you gotten story ideas in the middle of the night? Has a plot breakthrough suddenly dropped in on you when you least expected? Tell me about it!
This is so true. It can happen at any time. Be sure to note it down before its gone 🙂
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No kidding! Keeping a note pad or my phone close at hand.
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