Mine Is A Twisted Mind To Map

Read Kate’s mind-mapping challenge here, and Elisa’s response here.

Here’s the thing: I don’t often sit down with the intent of brainstorming. Sometimes, I’ll have an idea for a story, but it’s not enough by itself. When this happens, I put that story on hold and wait for it to grow. And it does. If it’s not ready, there’s no sense in forcing it.

I have to admit, I wasn’t sold on the idea of doing mind-maps. Maybe it’s because when I first learned about them in second grade, we called them webs, and I was severely arachnophobic. Not the best combination.

I also don’t remember them working that well for me, though it had been quite a while since I last used one.

There is a story here, but I’m not telling. Yet.

Confession: I did re-draw it. Not to make it look prettier (necessarily), but because the original is about a third of the size and would have been completely unreadable. I didn’t change the words or the placement.

Just “Fae” is ridiculously broad, so I started by naming overarching ways of portraying them, then latched on to what most appealed to me. When one avenue seemed to peter out, I took another. I found that some of the themes related back to each other, even when starting from disparate points. I didn’t fill the paper; I took just as much space as I needed.

In the end, I’ve laid the ground work for a short story. It is one of those ideas that will challenge me and force me to grow as a writer, so it intimidates the hell out of me. It lies somewhere in the valley of not fleshed out enough, outside my comfort zone, beyond my current skill set, and requiring more focus than my scattered self can currently muster.

As with anything creative, you have to trust your gut. My gut is telling me that this story will be a crucible for me as a writer, should I ever see it through.

That thought makes me want to run screaming in the other direction. (But if I’m going to run screaming, might as well aim straight for it!)

Thank you, Kate, for the challenge. I doubt this story would have been born without it. I needed the reminder that trying new (or re-attempting old!) approaches is always a worthwhile experience.