This week: The First Idea or Change Along the Way Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
Some thoughts on the idea process. Inspiration from a performance approach and using it in the world of writing. At times, that first idea is gold. Other times, it helps to adjust or change part way in the process. |
When it comes to creative outlets, doesn't matter if we are talking about drawings, poetry, long novels or even a full costume: many of us start with an idea. Some of us need multiple ones before we make progress and others will take the first idea all of the way until the end. Recently, I've had a couple of ideas when given a prompt where they really latched on. Like, no matter what, that idea kept yelling at me to put my attention there. It hasn't always been the one used at the end of the day, but other things get involved like health, appointments and sleep. So, they have't always been what gets used from a prompt but it is a greatly appreciated moment when an idea wants attention.
Let's start there. Given a prompt or a challenge, whether it's a color or something like an entire genre, can you go with the first idea that comes to mind? If you only have one day to write the entry for a contest, you might want to go with the first one.
When given the prompt of movies for a drag king performance, for some reason my mind got stuck on Space Jam. Even when the second half of my idea got called first by someone else, my initial plan had been stuck on Bugs Bunny. This is even though I have no makeup skills, let alone cosplay makeup and was trying to find most of the outfits and ideas from thrift stores. I heard cinema and went Bunny! Okay, I didn't perform that but got wise due to a health situation. Most of the time, when I'm writing a story for a prompt, I do tend to go with the first idea because it's the one that I think about the longest before the deadline, even if I write it last minute. Sometimes the first one that grabs your attention is going to be the best option. Next up is Cartoon Battle for looks and yes, I had something flash already as that first stronghold idea.
However, there are going times when that first flash in the pan idea isn't the strong. It just happens to be the first one. Given time to think about a prompt or challenge, there is the opportunity to come up with different options. This might not be the cause of contests like Writer's Cramp or the Daily Flash Fiction challenge due to deadline but even there, you will have a whole 24 hours from the prompt post to consider, write and submit something. That depends on when you see the prompt, at least.
Month long contests and other times, you might have the chance to develop something or maybe a shiny new idea will appear. Just be careful when it comes to the shiny idea situation. It becomes hard to finish anything if you are often going after the next new thing, so at some point a decision has to be made to stick something to move forward. I find with speculative fiction this almost seems more difficult because there is such a wide range of creative options for one to take. Where you go with any world, character, of plot line is nearly without limit. This might mean you fall back on something familiar or jump out into an unknown, that all depends on what you decide to write.
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| | | Elysium Chapter 1 (13+)
Maeve uses a digital afterlife service provider; 'Elysium'. This follows her journey.
#2339888 by M   |
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Do you go with the first idea that grabs your or does something else come along?
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Fantasy: May 14, 2025 Issue [#13129]
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