• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Rabia Gale

undiscovered countries

  • Home
  • Works
    • The Reflected City
    • The Sunless World
    • Taurin’s Chosen
    • Heartwood
    • Stand-Alones
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Contact

eureka!

Last night, I started to think of a story for an upcoming anthology I want to submit to. It wasn’t a new idea, but it snuck into my head with a first paragraph, a hard-edged character, and emotions–emotions tight-dammed behind walls of concrete, emotions desolate and sweeping like winds on the tundra, emotions as despairing as the sun winking out.

This was a story that said, LOOK AT ME!

So, I did and thought, Hmm, this might work for my intended market. I lay in bed, turning it over and dropped off to sleep, I presume, still thinking about it.

When I woke up this morning, it was gone.

I couldn’t remember the opening words that had grabbed me. I couldn’t remember the story. I couldn’t even remember if I had had a story, or if it was something that I had just dreamed up. All I had was this small hole, this nagging sense of loss.

I gave the story up for lost, or at least, misplaced. I probably wouldn’t get it back in time for that market, and so I went back to my original idea and did some mind-mapping for it while I was out in the yard with the kids.

Then I sat back at one point, shut my notebook, and stared at our beautiful immense willow. This is the tree that dominates our plot, that provides privacy without blocking out the sun, that I both love and fear (especially on windy days). It’s a tree I’ve known for five years, and yet today I looked at it as if seeing it for the very first time.

I looked at its deeply ridged trunk, at its thin whippy branches like long fingers, at the leaves dripping off the ends of their tips, trailing, veil-like, lace-like, hair-like.

Like a woman’s hair.

And I had it.

My lost story. And the picture it was based on.

One tree, one metaphor, linked to another tree in another picture, brought my story back to me.

It was like being given a gift.

So here I am, with a lesson: If neat story thoughts come to you right before bedtime, take a moment to jot them down. They might not stick around for the morning.

Any serendipity in your life recently?

Share via email Share

Filed Under: inspiration, short stories

Get Each Post in Your Inbox

Sign up here to receive each blog post in your inbox.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Join the Mailing List

I send out monthly newsletters, and share some special content with subscribers only. Join me!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Search

Latest Release

Ghoulfire Cover

Ghoulfire

A ghoul is murdering magicians in Lumen, and it’s up to Trey and Arabella to stop it.

Recent Posts

A YA anime-inspired web serial

April 30, 2019 Leave a Comment

The Darkest Days Fantasy Bundle

July 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

Now Out: Ghostlight

May 31, 2018 Leave a Comment

Ghostlight, Chapter Two

May 29, 2018 Leave a Comment

Categories

© 2021 Rabia Gale | All Rights Reserved | Design by Robin Cornett | Header Artwork by David Revoy: Used with permission | Privacy Policy