Catalyst

The Catalyst

Writers are often asked why they write. The simple, short answer? We must. We’re compelled to. You write, or you don’t—simple as that.

The harder question is where do you get story ideas? How about a formula? External/internal catalyst = emotion = need to express = words on paper/screen. It takes few words to express that emotion. But wait! Nothing happens in a vacuum. How did we get there? What’s the lead up? When did it happen? What’s the aftermath? What is the who-what-when-where using all the tactile and olfactory senses without using purple prose call to action? Ah, the book.

Everyone is different. Ideas come from eclectic places and various ways, often from something you see in everyday life, or a book you’ve read. Or, music. Need to write a sad scene? Listen to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. I think it’s been used as background music in about every war movie since. Think Platoon.

So, something speaks to you and gets your motor running. A catalyst. I have a favorite book that I wanted my children and grandchildren to read. More for the boys than the girls, but there is a strong female lead too.

“Here. Right here. This is the person I want you to be.” It’s about a fictional Sir Robert Fairfield who fought at the right hand of his king at the Battle of Agincourt. 
Kids and grandkids? Nah. Flipped it away. Doesn’t speak to them. 

What they don’t realize is the theme in WALK WITH PERIL by D.V.S Jackson is present in every book they’ve read. Go figure.

Many writers know what they want to do, plan out the complete novel or story in outline form and never vary from the script. I envy those folks. They churn out books by the dozens. That has never worked for me. I’m what is called in the writer world as a Pantster, or someone who writes by the seat of their pants. The few times I’ve tried to outline, the story went off the rails as the characters took over. Then my outline resembled someone trying to herd cats.

So, ideas? If you write, you must read. I read a lot of unknowns. Longer works by James Lee Burke and Craig Johnson have been great. Of course, everyone who writes westerns have read Louis L’Amour and Dusty Richards to name a few. There are too many to name and I’ve been reading a long, long… long time.

I keep a Word file full of quotes and sayings that mean something to me. These aren’t used verbatim unless I can credit the writer. I look at them for inspiration and it’s the idea behind the quote that drives my own take on things. A good quote will drive your imagination in a lot of different directions.

For example, I needed to write a companion piece to my near-future novel THE SHEPHERD. The protagonist and his lady in THE SHEPHERD were both highly skilled individuals so when the world went to pot they had a good chance of survival—and still almost didn’t make it.
CHRYSALIS is the flip-side of that coin. This story is about a computer nerd and his family—same scenario, same city—how did they survive? Well....

The attitude and driving force for CHRYSALIS was Johnny Cash’s rendition of Hurt. Give it a listen and try to get THAT out of your head the rest of the day. I should insert a smiley face here—kind of a sinister, grim looking smiley face. Maybe a clown. My kids argue for the rendition by Nine Inch Nails. I have my own opinion. Thank you very much.

Another example is my novella RESCUE TRAIL. There’s a situation where the marshal is trying to avoid trouble, trying to back away. His method was shades of James Lee Burke. Every story Mr. Burke writes is a lesson for any aspiring writer. If you read RESCUE TRAIL, see if you can find it.

I saw a book cover of a cowboy kneeling in front of a cross and HALLOWED GROUND came from that. Plus the question of how do you write about a serial killer before the term was coined?

Crazy as it seems, sometimes that’s all it takes.

You can keep your own list just for fun. Maybe you already do.

“War is only interesting to someone who’s never been.” Yup. Been there, done that, burned the tee shirt.

“You’re a sophistic pretzel.” Okay, I’m not sure I’ve ever figured that one out. Still trying.

“The road he was stepping on had an end of hazy uncertainty.” We’ve all been there.

Someone was kind enough to put a list of Shakespearean insults on Facebook. Oh, I loved that. I’d like to use at least one in every future writing.

—She stepped close as the cool night drew down and the wind whipped dust in the street. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the scent of rain… and her… shook him as his arms pulled her in. Moments before his life had been his own. He could risk it or throw it away. Now someone lay claim to it and made it precious. —That’s just me and it’s in a future story.

See? I’ve gone off the rails again.  

Have a blessed day in whatever gets your motor running.

Darrel Sparkman

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