Stars form when billions of tons of gas, scattered across space in the midst of an impossibly huge nebula, gradually come together through the attractive pull of gravity. Over the course of thousands of years, these gases slowly, almost imperceptibly come together, until they reach a critical mass. When that critical mass is achieved, the ball of gas falls in on itself and ignites a trememndous nuclear reaction, millions of times more powerful than all the nuclear weapons of Earth with more than a trillion times the longevity. Thus a new star is born.
Writing is not that much different; at least, not for me. My mind is like a vast nebula of thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions, images, and memories. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, these ideas start to congregate. As I work each one out and give it shape and gravity, they slowly start to fall into each other. Some of them have more weight and fall faster, while others drift away. Eventually, these ideas reach a critical mass–and when they do, they rapidly fall into each other and come together, igniting an exciting plotline. A story is born, just screaming at me to be written.
This past week, the ideas for my next story came together and reached that critical mass…