darkness was balanced by a force of light, and the two had been locked in battle since the dawn of timeâa familiar concept. But here is the clincher. What if you were someone who knew this was happening and could do something about it; how much of yourself and your life would you be willing to sacrifice for the chance to make a difference?
From those questions emerged the characters of John Ross, the Knight of the Word, who is the paladin of hope for a world under siege from the forces of the Void, and Nest Freemark, the teenager whose dark family history hides a handful of secrets that could lead to the Knightâs success or failure. More questions followed, each one leading to another, opening new doors and revealing fresh ideas. It works like that. In your thinking, you build your story one brick at a time until you have a recognizable house in which to move about. For
Running with the Demon
, the ideas came so fast and so easily that I could barely get one down on paper before another surfaced. Before I finished thinking about that book, I had the framework in place for two more. I had a trilogy with a beginning, a middle, and an ending book, a perfect circle to take the reader through three crucial meetings between the two main characters, each of which would prove to be life-transforming.
Where do you get your ideas? Mostly, from asking questions and thinking about the answers. From considering possibilities and wondering to what they might lead. From letting your mind run free and taking a close look at whatever it happens to stumble across. It isnât thinking so much as it is dreaming. But all things begin with dreaming.
Lester del Rey told me repeatedly that the first and most important part of writing fiction is just to think about the story. Donât write anything down. Donât try to pull anything together right away. Just dream for a while and see what happens. There isnât any timetable involved, no measuring stick for how long it ought to take. For each book, it is different. But that period of thinking, of reflection, is crucial to how successful your story will turn out to be.
Hereâs another news flash for everyone who has ever asked a writer where he gets his ideas. Or she. Getting ideas is the least difficult part of the process. Whatâs hard, really hard, is making those ideas come together in a well-conceived, compelling story. So many of those ideas that seem wonderful at first blush end up leading nowhere. They wonât sustain the weight of a story. They wonât spin out past a few pages. They wonât lead to something insightful and true.
Ideas are like chocolates, as Forrest Gump might say. You never know what you are going to get.
Â
----
I could have the idea on loan. He would give it to
me for exactly one year. If I wrote an acceptable
book in that time, the idea was mine to keep.
Otherwise, I would have to give it back.
----
Â
----
B LUEPRINT
----
IN LATE WINTER of 1984, I flew east from Sterling to New York City for a meeting with Lester del Rey. I made the trip for several reasons, but foremost of these was the desire to talk with him about what I would write next. Rewrites for
The Wishsong of Shannara
were complete, and it was time to consider a new project. I knew I did not want to do another
Shannara
book right away. After fifteen years of working in the
Shannara
world, I was burned out. I needed to write something else, but I did not know what that something else should be.
I had some ideas, of course. What writer doesnât? But I was leery of how they would be received. One year earlier, I presented a synopsis for a book entitled
The Koden King
, and both Lester and Judy-Lynn hated it. They did not say they hated it, not directly, but it was easy enough to read between the lines of their comments. They were encouraging of my work, as always, but clear about their opinion of the proposed book. I was tempted this time to call ahead to
From those questions emerged the characters of John Ross, the Knight of the Word, who is the paladin of hope for a world under siege from the forces of the Void, and Nest Freemark, the teenager whose dark family history hides a handful of secrets that could lead to the Knightâs success or failure. More questions followed, each one leading to another, opening new doors and revealing fresh ideas. It works like that. In your thinking, you build your story one brick at a time until you have a recognizable house in which to move about. For
Running with the Demon
, the ideas came so fast and so easily that I could barely get one down on paper before another surfaced. Before I finished thinking about that book, I had the framework in place for two more. I had a trilogy with a beginning, a middle, and an ending book, a perfect circle to take the reader through three crucial meetings between the two main characters, each of which would prove to be life-transforming.
Where do you get your ideas? Mostly, from asking questions and thinking about the answers. From considering possibilities and wondering to what they might lead. From letting your mind run free and taking a close look at whatever it happens to stumble across. It isnât thinking so much as it is dreaming. But all things begin with dreaming.
Lester del Rey told me repeatedly that the first and most important part of writing fiction is just to think about the story. Donât write anything down. Donât try to pull anything together right away. Just dream for a while and see what happens. There isnât any timetable involved, no measuring stick for how long it ought to take. For each book, it is different. But that period of thinking, of reflection, is crucial to how successful your story will turn out to be.
Hereâs another news flash for everyone who has ever asked a writer where he gets his ideas. Or she. Getting ideas is the least difficult part of the process. Whatâs hard, really hard, is making those ideas come together in a well-conceived, compelling story. So many of those ideas that seem wonderful at first blush end up leading nowhere. They wonât sustain the weight of a story. They wonât spin out past a few pages. They wonât lead to something insightful and true.
Ideas are like chocolates, as Forrest Gump might say. You never know what you are going to get.
Â
----
I could have the idea on loan. He would give it to
me for exactly one year. If I wrote an acceptable
book in that time, the idea was mine to keep.
Otherwise, I would have to give it back.
----
Â
----
B LUEPRINT
----
IN LATE WINTER of 1984, I flew east from Sterling to New York City for a meeting with Lester del Rey. I made the trip for several reasons, but foremost of these was the desire to talk with him about what I would write next. Rewrites for
The Wishsong of Shannara
were complete, and it was time to consider a new project. I knew I did not want to do another
Shannara
book right away. After fifteen years of working in the
Shannara
world, I was burned out. I needed to write something else, but I did not know what that something else should be.
I had some ideas, of course. What writer doesnât? But I was leery of how they would be received. One year earlier, I presented a synopsis for a book entitled
The Koden King
, and both Lester and Judy-Lynn hated it. They did not say they hated it, not directly, but it was easy enough to read between the lines of their comments. They were encouraging of my work, as always, but clear about their opinion of the proposed book. I was tempted this time to call ahead to
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