Summer of Discovery: Synchronicity

Welcome to Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers series. Suzanne writes about magic, mayhem and murder – liberally spiced with hot guys, kick-ass chicks and super-cool supes!

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One of the things I've discovered, and always amazes me, about writing is how there appears to be a synchronicity in the universe when it comes to creating stories. This synchronicity often happens to me, and I've heard my writer pals mention it too. So what do I mean? Well, here's an example. When I was in the very early stages of writing my first book, The Sweet Scent of Blood, I was a lot more of a panster when it came to plotting*, than I am now.

So when I decided I needed a scene in a police station where Genny has gone to find out about a magical murder victim, I just started writing. Then my first troll appeared on the page. Now, in the 'nebulous story background' floating around in my head, I knew this troll was a longtime friend of Genny's, that he was a police officer, and that he'd helped her in the past, but that was it. I hadn't a clue what his name was, what he looked like, where he came from, etc.. So as I wrote, I ad-libbed the details. Here he is in Genny's own words as we first meet him:

"You need all the front you can muster when facing seven foot of solid granite troll, especially when the troll is Detective Sergeant Hugh Munro. Never mind that he was as soft as faerie moss, he was not going to be happy I was here.

'Genny, good to see you again.' Hugh's voice was a deep bass. He lifted one large hand in greeting and smiled, pink granite teeth gleaming: his bite was way worse than his bark. His shock of black hair grew straight up, two inches above his scalp ridge, contrasting nicely with the deep red of his skin – not sunburn, just his natural colour. Hugh came from the Cairngorms, from the largest tribe in Scotland, and his grandmother was the matriarch." Extract Ch 5 – The Sweet Scent of Blood

Give or take a couple of commas, this was my first draft and what actually ended up in the book*. But as soon as I'd finished the scene, I knew I might be in trouble. This was urban fantasy, so I could make things up, but not when it came to a real place. What if my facts weren't right? I'd picked the Cairngorms for Hugh's birthplace as it was the first Scottish mountain range that popped into my head, but I hadn't a clue what type of stone it consisted of. What if it wasn't granite, and what if it wasn't pink/red? I liked Hugh's description and I was going to be bummed if I had to change it. So I started on the research . . . and discovered my first moment of synchronicity: luckily for me, the Cairngorms are mostly pink and red granite, something I'm 99.9% sure I'd never heard of, let alone known.

I say 99.9%, because the other thing I've discovered when writing is my muse (a.k.a my subconscious). When my muse is in a generous mood, good things often appear on the page with no conscious decision from me. Which brings me back to my police troll, Hugh Munro. I picked the name Munro because I knew it was the name given to Scottish mountains over a certain height (3,000 ft/914.4 m)*, and 'Hugh' just seemed to fit. Then I did the research and discovered Sir Hugh Munro (1856–1919) is the name of the man who wrote the first list of the Munros, known as the Munros Tables, in 1891. Now, I didn't know who 'Hugh Munro' was when I was naming my police troll, but I'm pretty sure I'd heard the name at some point previously, so my muse/subconscious kindly hit on the association and plucked the name from the far reaches of my brain and offered it up on the page. Always wonderful when that happens.

Many thanks to Maria for having me over to blog and I hope you've all enjoyed reading my discoveries. So, I'm wondering if any of you have had anything similar happen?

*I discovered pretty quick that I had to change partway into a plotster (or as my critique partner, Jaye Wells, calls it: a Plantser, which makes it sound rather triffid- like in origin . . .) if I was going to finish the book: sitting staring at a screen wondering what's going to happen next doesn't suit the way I write.

Pantser = write by the seat of your pants.

Plotster = plot every move out first.

Planster = outline it from A to B, then take a few detours getting there as you go with the flow.

*Oh, boy, I wish this happened in my writing way more often; things would go so much quicker.

*Yep, I had to look the height up too! *g*

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Thanks, Suzanne! I'm totally a believer in serendipity and synchronicity…and very much a Plantser these days. Readers, how about you–what unusual synchronous events have you had? Comment below and be entered to win a copy of 1 of Suzanne's books–your choice.