I'm continually amazed by how problems get resolved the longer I just keep them in the back of my mind. It's as if my sub-conscious (or is it unconscious) mind is chewing on the problems for me and then, when that part of my mind has come to a conclusion it releases all of its good ideas in one huge tidal wave of ideas. Like the final few scenes of the movie, 2001 A Space Odyssey when Dave Bowman is racing through the cosmos, all of the color and shapes are bombarding him while he sits immobile in the shuttle, just taking it all in, astounded.
I've been trying to figure out several themes and aspects of my next novel, Off the Edge, that could make it more believable, deeper, something closer to what Donald Maass described in Writing the Breakout Novel. All of a sudden, this morning in the shower, that flood of ideas hit, one after the other, each one leading to the next, each a bit more concise and detailed than the last. First thing I did was run to my notebook and jot it all down.
When I was younger I read most of Stephen King's books. I was always intrigued by his stories and wondered at that time what his dreams must be like. I was sure that the only way he could come up with such interesting ideas was through his interesting dreams and nightmares. I know now that the concepts of his books were quite rudimentary (a poltergeist, vampires, haunted house), and that the process of writing generally leads to deeper, more well fleshed out works.
More than anything else I'm glad I started toting a notebook around with me everywhere I go. It has been invaluable for capturing these bursts of inspiration that my sub-conscious mind spit out every now and then.
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