People often ask, “Where did you get the idea for this story?” They are often surprised by the answer: daydreams. Perhaps they expect my Muse to whisper to me as I sleep and dream. I am not Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet. My dreams are disappointing.
I can have a Star Wars level murder mystery working in my head, but my dreams, the ones I remember anyway, don’t contribute. My dreams are about crowded airline terminals, Atlanta for example. I am in a mad rush to the gate to find my gate has been changed to one that’s across the airport! I run thru thongs of people like it was the Rose Bowl and the band was still on the field. My huge and heavy suitcase pops open, I struggle to get it snapped! Then, somewhere deep in my skull, I remember I had this anxiety dream before, and I know it goes nowhere and contributes nothing, and I wake up to get out of it. Spit, pee, try to go back to sleep. Needless.
Daydreams are different. Neil Gaiman said, “You get ideas from daydreaming…. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.” Anon said, “Daydreamers have the advantage over those who dream only at night.”
I imagine scenes, full of color and human activity. I “listen” to characters talk. I put characters in the scene and give them a problem, a threat, a mission, rewards. Then I daydream about what they do.
Titles take inspiration from the world in the story, and reality helps me twist them a bit. Plots come from what the characters decide to do. Plots might be linked daydreams.
Quotations can get me thinking. I collect them. They offer a new perspective on human events, they present truths, they play with reality, they illustrate moods. If they give me a mental buzz, perhaps there is a story in there someplace. They spark daydreams, and off we go!
I am currently working on a story featuring my Denver PI, Sammy Lagune (the latest story is in Micky Finn 5). The plot is inspired by the famous Chicago mobster, Alphonse Capone.
He said, “You’re either at the table or on the menu.” Vicious, predatory, kill or be killed. Dangerous territory for Sammy, life-threatening. A threat to his Capitol Hill community too, out east on Colfax. Raymond Chandler described the perfect PI as a modern Knight protecting society. Sammy will hear the call to action and he won’t ignore it.
Dream on, keep a notebook by your bed, next to where you write, maybe even with you all the time. Daydreams are ephemeral and they lose fidelity quickly. Jot down a few notes so you can revisit the daydream later. It will serve you well.
Steve Pease/Michael Chandos
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