I Tell Myself Stories

I’ve been told that everyone daydreams. They ponder strange and wonderful things when the real world isn’t intruding into their lives. I always thought what I did was simply daydreaming. I learned later in life that I was wrong.

I tell myself stories in my head.

The “writing " routine in my head (that’s what my fourth grade teacher called it) started when I was little, and by little, I mean the early 1980s. It began with “choose your own adventure” books. When I wasn’t happy with any of those choices and outcomes, I’d just make up my own, but I never put them to paper.

From there, I made the inevitable leap to other books, movies, and television. I would, without knowing it, break down plots and storylines in my head. They were far from good stories, but at least they were recognizable as narratives.

This is how I work out my stories before I commit them to screen. I always start with a tentpole moment. They are either action scenes, emotional scenes, or exposition scenes. I’ll work these around in my head as I go about the day.

The process can take a couple of months.

For me, it’s literally like watching a movie or television show in my head.

Once I’ve worked out the details of all, or most, of the tentpoles, I move on to the transitions. These don’t take nearly as long. That’s not to say that the transition scenes aren’t important. In many ways, I think they’re the most important scenes. It’s just that I find them relatively easy to block out and put to screen.

They take, maybe, a couple of weeks.

Once the machine, for me, stories are really a type of machine, is put together, I can start the work. When I’m in the groove, although I prefer the term channel to groove, the typing isn’t a slow process. I usually average 1500 words a day once I’m up and running.

So, what’s currently dancing through my imagination?

Lately, I keep coming back to one scene in particular.

The scene is a two hander. They are a couple who are sleeping in bed.

The room is softly illuminated by the moonlight spilling through the bedroom window.

The couple, they aren’t actually a romantic couple but instead “Friends with benefits,” are sleeping after having a night of sex.

The gender makeup of our pair is irrelevant. I’ve run every permutation through my head, and it all works regardless of the gender makeup.

One of them has a nightmare and wakes up sobbing and begging for something, I don't know what, to stop. What it is will be revealed later in the book. The partner guides the terrified person to their bare chest and sings a lullaby in a foreign language until the other falls asleep.

Again, I am unsure what language it is, but it will be revealed at the proper time,

Just before the one who had the nightmare falls asleep, they tell the singer they love them.

When the nightmare victim wakes, they find a note left behind by the singer. The note says this is too much and that they can't be together.

I have several projects, either in process or still in the head writing (hehe) stage, where this scene will fit perfectly. I’m looking at you, The Vampire Years Book 1.

Well, that’s it.

That’s the essay.

I hope you enjoyed learning a slice of my writing process.

Come back next time when I’m sure I’ll be back to my middle aged emo malarky or my angry social, political, and economic rantings.

- Josh (12/07/2023)