The phases in writing a story, pulling from reality, but molding it to the demand of readers. There is so much raw material, possibilities in the beginning. The story is a delight in one's mind. But then you start to put it down on paper, and what were broad visuals, strong emotions become a sparse draft outline.
Then to do research. And unleash possibilities. The reality happened to many people, and they experienced it in their own ways, with the diverse experience that humanity has. You, as the writer, start to detail your draft. You set the structure up for maximum audience satisfaction without being formulaic. You blend characters, the conflicts reveal themselves to you. And you start to move on at a clip, filling in the pieces of the draft, writing scenes. And then, damn it, you pull back camera, and it all seems so damn cliche.
Somehow in the crafting, the edgy emotional feeling has gotten left out, or rather, the emotion left feels rather trite and cliched. This will not do! Maybe it's just good enough to use this writing as an excuse for practice, and keep slogging a bit. I think, stories like this might have to sit on the shelf for a bit. It took me two years of the idea rattling around in my head to even get this far.
But then, this morning, exactly when I was thinking of the cliched current state, I open a key text resource (received over the weekend) and open the autobiography to the chapter that covers what my story attempts to cover and three pages in feel revitalized, the conflicts fresh, the ruthlessness, simply, cleanly there on the page. The acknowledgement of devastation and moral outrage triggered. There is a fresh perspective for me to mine here. An unapologetic villain is exactly what I need.
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