I’ve been asked about my process in creating the story of When the King is Evil. It’ll take more than one post to answer that, but here’s how it began …
I usually have no trouble falling asleep. If I do, I create a story in my mind, sorta like telling myself a “ bedtime story.” 🙂
A recurring one began with a donkey pulling a farm cart over a city’s cobbled streets, late at night. (I don’t know where that image came from.) Eventually, I noticed the farmer and his family and later still, I was able to add their names.
Because I had told myself this story frequently, I decided to try to put it on paper. I worked on that opening scene at least 50 times, re-ordering the sequence; choosing the right word; trying to write vividly, but simply; adding dialogue.
Once that was done, I sketched out a possible plot, but I really didn’t know where the story was going. I just wrote and re-wrote as characters developed and the plot evolved.