There have been many times when I’ve been writing where the story will suddenly steer in another direction. A new idea dawns on me that shines a light on my original idea, metamorphosing it into something else that I wouldn’t have expected. It’s not simply that a new idea replaces the old one, although that can happen, but that the new idea builds and adds to it in layers upon layers.
It’s as if a floodgate of ideas come streaming forth as I write, providing harmony, detail, and depth to the story. Original scenes that were well thought out during the planning phase have become altered or replaced altogether with scenes that are more cohesive and powerful.
It’s something that I’ve learned to accept and embrace as I write, since my original idea was merely the impetus for something greater. To give an analogy: a writer starts with a piece of stone or wood for sculpting, and as they carve out the form, they begin to see the potential of what those basic forms could become, shaping them into something more real, organic, and life-like, such that they take on a life of its own.
Fallton Havenstonne 