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He rears up proudly pawing the air.
You want to reach for him, grab him and keep him.
But as you approach, he vanishes like the mist.
There you stand empty-handed on the hot, dry sand, wondering how he could have slipped away.
Your fiction idea seemed like such a good idea at first.
But then as the days passed, the idea stallion disappeared into nothingness.
After several such experiences, you have probably reasoned that you must not be cut out for fiction writing at all.
But that is not necessarily true.
Take heart! Do what it takes to bring that phantom stallion into the show ring! (To bring your fiction writing ideas into publication.
) Ideas can be elusive phantoms at times.
Almost imperceptibly they flit in and out of the mind's eye in a teasing "catch me if you can" dance.
Some fiction ideas are so small they're simply ignored.
Others are of such magnitude they intimidate the mind into letting them go free.
When I first began to get serious about fiction writing, one of my best, and most oft-used excuses, was that I had no ideas.
Gazing out upon the vast ranges, I barely caught glimpses of one or two hazy apparitions on the sun-speckled horizon.
I shaded my eyes and squinted, lamenting, "Where are all the good ideas?" Eventually, I learned that in order to "own" those phantom stallions I had to: - catch 'em - corral 'em - cull 'em - bring 'em to completion Catch 'Em The more I studied about fiction writing the more I understood that idea country is an attitude.
An attitude of observing life.
An attitude of excited expectancy.
I soon learned that I was actually brimming over with ideas.
I opened my eyes and I saw things differently.
Now I saw that in the spring the cottonwood tree is first adorned in delicate green fringe and then tiny, fluttering leaves.
When new, not a speck of dust clinks to them -- they are shiny spangles.
I saw that an old barn looked like a skeleton with its insides exposed; stubble in a plowed field looked like grated cocoanut on chocolate frosting.
I listened to people talking; I observed actions; I watched facial expressions.
I caught ideas.
Corral 'Em But idea stallions are swift as the wind.
It's the fiction writer's discipline to grab whatever is handy to write down that which has caught the attention.
Three words to remember always: "Write it down!" Cardinal rule of the successful fiction writer.
My first corral was a small 7X9 three-ring loose-leaf notebook.
This allowed the adding and removing of pages.
Eventually, I went on to fill two of these.
In those notebooks are the seeds of articles, short stories, and yes, even novels.
You must corral your fiction ideas in the way that works best for you.
The key is to respect the ideas and observations.
Don't treat them lightly.
They are God's special gifts to you.
Cull 'Em While all ideas are to be respected; none are to be worshipped.
Now come the moment to discern which to develop and which to cull.
As you mature in your fiction writing experience and in your level of plotting skills, you'll soon be able to tell which ideas will need to be developed and which go by the wayside.
But even at that, some will be culled for the time being only.
It's simply a matter of timing.
That's why authors/writers have lots of file cabinets sitting around.
They are loathe to throw anything away.
Anything could become something -- it may be just a matter of a few years! Bring 'Em to Completion Now the corral is getting filled.
Effective culling of the herd is taking place.
Now comes the challenge of actually finishing that novel (or short story) that you started.
That's a biggie.
Oh the writers I've met through the years who have admitted they have drawers and boxes full of unfinished literary works.
Usually it's fear that keeps a person from finishing.
After all, when the work is completed, now it's time to get it out there and see if it really has merit.
That's a scary thing to have to face.
But again, the more fiction ideas you allow to die in the box at the top of the hall closet, the less you are respecting that idea.
Eventually, the herd will die out altogether.
And you certainly don't want that to happen.
So get busy! Today! Catch those elusive fiction ideas.
Corral 'em just as quickly as possible.
Cull 'em and work with the best ones.
Then bring each project (novel or short story) to total completion! You can do it!
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