I get why they call it that, I really do.
When I write, I never know any details when I start. I have a vague idea of something I’d like to write about. Maybe I have a glimmer of a character, and some thing’s she’ll do, places she’ll go. I have a sort of impression of what the ending will be and what the story will say to the world. But that’s it.
As I write, I find out the details, the connections between the events and characters, the subplots and themes, all as if I’m discovering a story that already exists. It’s like I saw a hint of a story buried somewhere, and started excavating it. Each chapter I type is a pile of soil brushed away from the slowly revealed artifact.
Hopefully I don’t do any damage in the process of digging it up…
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