A Metaphorical Idea-to-Story path

“Getting an idea” is a bit like having a bowl full of flour. You can stir in some sugar and salt and baking powder and spices, and you still have a bowl of white powder that doesn’t stick together to make anything. You can cut in a bunch of butter, and you get a bowl of damp-looking yellowish powder that still doesn’t look like it will make anything. And then you add the egg, or some milk, and suddenly you have cookie dough that you can bake. But at what point did it become “cookie dough”? If yo...