Ideas, big and small
I got my writing mojo back since I last posted about my complete creative block. This is obviously very good news. I don’t know what has changed. Perhaps I just needed time to process what had happened in December, which I tend to do in my subconscious – if I am completely exhausted mentally despite having done nothing, that means my subconscious is working.
My subconscious also works on writing the same way.
Ideas
I’ve been asked many times where I get my ideas from, and my answer is always the same: I can give you five ideas right now, the problem is where to get good ideas.
But a general idea is not enough. I have the first (or zero-th) draft of the follow-up to Storytellers written down, basically what I dreamt plus some padding. It needs a lot of actual content, because while the padding is kinda interesting as soil, you need seeds before something sprouts, not to mention growing into flowers. (In Iceland, probably the purple lupines, pictured above.) So, the big idea needs small ideas…
When ideas don’t work
Some ideas are actually dead end streets. They seem fine in the beginning, then as they develop, they’re also unraveling. I’ve written a lot of stuff that will never get published, because I was sure going somewhere with it, but it took so many detours and split into so many threads I no longer know where I was going to end up.
This applies to small and big ideas. For Land, I had the idea of Magni accidentally inventing communism. I swear Magni crossed his sizeable arms on his chest and said, “I am not doing this.” I asked, surprised, “what are you doing, then?” “You are the author, you figure it out.” Then he left me with the general outline for Land now useless except the first and the final part. I have created this person (I am not too fond of the word ‘character’ when it comes to my writing) with his likes, dislikes, background, needs, wishes, and creating communism simply wasn’t something Magni would do. If I tried to force it to happen nevertheless, I’d end up with a bad book and reviews mentioning the unexplained change for the worse from Children.
Bloodbath & Beyond
I’m finishing the second (i.e. 10th) draft of the sequel to Why Odin Drinks now. The first part is already with Megan Thee Editor. And oh boy, does this book require lots of ideas.
Humour is incredibly difficult to write, because it’s so subjective. I’ve been raised on British comedy (thank you, BBC One!) and those who know my pop-culture references got extra laughs from Why Odin Drinks. Those who don’t, were hopefully mildly amused at least. I write a lot of slapstick, though, and if you do not find slapstick comedy funny at all, even if it’s crafted by a master I don’t pretend to be, you won’t laugh at this book at all. It’s got my lowest overall rating on Goodreads and I am not surprised or disappointed. This is how humour works: sometimes it doesn’t. Ask any stand-up comedian performing for a random audience who doesn’t know them at all.
But jokes are also hard. Emotionally, The Ten Worlds is work, because it’s so autobiographical. From the craft point of view, Why Odin Drinks (the series) is the hardest. Some parts of the Norse lore are hilarious, but in a very bloody way. I try to keep that off-page. Some are interesting and quite deep, but simply not that hilarious. I try to keep that off-page. I have to fill in those blanks, and I need lots of small ideas to do that.
The Big Idea
The Ten Worlds in itself is the big idea – the Norse universe of the Nine Worlds plus Earth, as I don’t subscribe to the belief that Earth = Midgard. Why Odin Drinks is like a series of very early prequels to The Ten Worlds, and there are connections between the two. (If you’ve read both Children and the original Why Odin Drinks story, you know who the singularity is, for instance.)
Bloodbath & Beyond is Freya’s coming-of-Goddess story and illustrates how words and actions have certain unintended consequences – in this case, turning a petulant teenage Goddess into the woman you meet on the pages of Children and Land. (Hint: in the Norse lore, Freya is burnt at a stake three times. This isn’t very hilarious.)
While the sequel to Storytellers is definitely going to happen, I am apparently a fantasy author. This hasn’t happened on purpose. It’s just that I want to write about two things, the Norse beliefs/lore and Iceland, and they’re inseparable. There will be a story published on Ko‑fi soon-ish where Magni helps, AD 1000, a góði to decide whether the Icelanders should follow the Old Gods or the new God named God. Magni, you see (if you are me), is pictured on Iceland’s coat-of-arms, with his long hair and beard, and Iceland became Christian very quickly after the góði announced – hardly a spoiler – that the God named God is going to be the real one, but whoever wants to worship the Old Gods is welcome to do so in private. They didn’t survive long. Because with very few exceptions they returned into the Nine Worlds.
But the Hidden Folk, whom we call elves, stayed in Iceland… and still dwell there.
This is how a mid-sized idea ties Storytellers and its follow-up to all my other books. I know many people keep waiting for that follow-up, and I promise it is happening. In the meantime, you might enjoy my other books more than you think, even if you don’t think you like fantasy at all; when I tried to submit Storytellers for an award, I was told to submit it in the fantasy category because an elf features in the book. Well, it’s Iceland. Elves are not fantasy there. And, for me, the Old Gods aren’t either… but that’s a blog post idea for some other time!
