“Borrean Nation is a densely-clogged, sewage drain of prose.”
– “Legendary” Baril Hollis
This is a story i did not think would get written: It was too daunting, too cynical, and the sort of thing i’d decided not to do again. But here we are.
The first sparks were kicked loose in the spring, as those first claims of salvation were being honed, and all i could think was – here we go again. However, like most casual dismissives, it blew off the fact there were forces at play that got us back here.
But an idea trickled out of conversation, observation, and contemplation. Here we go again, and, history repeats are elements that are important, however, that’s not what the story’s about. Yet, thinking how to represent them in a manner that wasn’t overly onerous was what found amusement and held attention – kept the thought of writing this rollin’ around the brain: The idea of those wikipedia-style entries to create the foundation. A way to parlay what i wanted to say.
That fermented a few months until i decided to take a crack at it, and i created those entries in June. It was another month before i decided to plot out progression with an – actual – outline. As can be seen, that was given a tremendous amount of thought and effort.
And then, one still but restless night… July 22, to be exact, i got the itch to write. So i pulled out my little entries, looked over the outline, and chapter one was helpfully guided, by, “Dream.”
“Dream,” is stated, and that was it, and from that word, chapter one was concluded shortly after 11pm. It is exactly the type of writing that i have tried to get away from, and after i wrote it, i read it about fifteen times and wondered what sort of monstrosity i’d created.
I bounced around the basement walls a while and pondered what was written. I dropped the chapter onto a blog on the chance that’s where it ended, and i concluded with certainty, that an entire story could not be written in that manner. But the outline said – dream – and as that, it seemed fine, though it ultimately set me up to return, repeatedly.
I wasn’t sure it was going to work, especially after establishing some of the imagery, ideas and metaphors in that initial chapter, and when i first wrote chapter 2, i wasn’t sure if it was too disconnected. I wasn’t sure if i could carry the ideas throughout the story.
But I think i did a pretty good job of giving meaning to the ideas and bringing them together – progressing the outlook from a young child’s to a parent’s. To that of someone that fears they leave their children awash in the ocean of their failings.
It’s November 18, as i typed this, and i will never write a story like this, again. Too much time, too much thought, and too much effort. And mostly, too much to edit. Back to short, blithe stories that are just for fun. Or – whyever it is they get written…
But this one improbably got written, and uncharacteristically, it mostly stayed on track right to the end. It never stalled, even if there were days where i pondered over it without putting down a word. There were times i thought – no way i can do another dream. There were times i thought parental interference – that is, Éayren’s – would derail and ruin the story, but instead, i think they strengthened it: Added to the ideas that were the motivation for the primary character and the story ends where it was actually intended, if not when.
It ended before i expected. It is more settled than intended, and it came to an end with a few ideas still sitting on the outline, but they became unnecessary because of Éayren. They said, no, and those desultory fragments meant to phase the conclusion were crushed beneath the rubble. The end arrived, and it was where the outline and story were meant
Available at the usual places.
Daniel Endicott 