Today’s post is certainly cutting it close to the deadline, but I’m mostly okay with that. Probably. Maybe freaking out a little. However, this late posting is partially thanks to going out for ice cream and watching unexpected fireworks, and suddenly I have an unexpected lead-in to the topic I’d wanted to write about.

The Universe works in mysterious ways, while I speak this rhyme of clichés? Yeah. Let’s go ahead and wipe that last sentence from our collective memory. No looking back. Don’t you dare, damn it.

Day Eleven – Stumbling into good fortune in writing

I’d like to say a lot of my ideas are heavily premeditated, and the product of many brainstorming sessions, but anyone who knows me can point out my brainstorming sessions are typically momentary drizzles. The occasional supermassive hurricane cruises through every now and again, yes, but those usually show up abruptly and at the least convenient times (read as when I’m about to go to bed, in the middle of work, and so on).

The problem with those spontaneous ideas is that they usually start off as nonsense. A couple of bits and pieces I need to interpret, which is a real nightmare since I suck at puzzles. There’s bad at puzzles, and then there’s me. The result is a sort of thought-challenge that doesn’t always end very well, but the rewards for times it does are pretty tremendous.

Let’s take today, for instance. I’m thinking of the progression the Black Forest story will follow, as it’s not really fully established yet, and an idea popped up. Sorry, no spoilers since I’ll be posting more of it later on. I know, I know. That feels a little cheap, so I’ll offer a little information.

There’s a dark, menacing figure who shows up during Katja’s adventures. I couldn’t figure out what kind of big, nasty monster it would be, but I did figure out how she’d best it. I considered making it a dark wizard, but that felt bland. Boring. I tried moving closer to German folklore, and considered the Erlkoenig. I got conned into being part of a performance of “Erlkoenig”, and the Erlkoennig was a generally creepy character. However, something about using him didn’t feel right. However, it did point me in the right direction, I think.

Bam. Suddenly, a Lich. But why a Lich? What could I do to make the Lich special? And so the wheels in my brain began a-turnin’, and I stumbled into my own Lich folklore. That’s where the details end, however, and I hate to be that way, but I want to save it for the story. Sorry.

Today’s post is woefully short, and I’m not making any goals for tomorrow because I can’t help but think that could go sour like last time. We’ll see. The important part is tomorrow may or may not involve as much writing as I can manage, but I won’t say for sure.

Eighty-nine days remaining.