How I get ideas into the planning stage

Okay, so when I have an idea, it would be abstract, such as what if there was a Hyena in Cape Town, and what if it had a panga? Then I start drawing up scenes, crafting a vague idea for what a setting could look like. Often these ideas would start expanding and changing, such as the hyena becoming one variation of dozens of curses invoking South African animals and revolving around South African problems. That idea occurred from a random thought of how scary a hyena laugh could sound during a blackout into something like this:

A tall, hulking figure in tattered blue overalls was standing over the mangled corpse of an elderly woman. Her face was frozen in her final moments of terror. The figure, bending over his victim, kept repeatedly raising and plunging a crimson-soaked panga knife into the corpse. The figure alternated between snarls, growls, and deep breathless gulps of air.

Seemingly satisfied with his handiwork. The figure giggled, the familiar high-pitched staccato laugh as he tore at the belt buckle with elated- strangled breaths.

Ivory tried to back away, trembling and on the verge of tears. Under her shoe, a stray piece of glass broke with a terrible crack; the sound ripped through the quiet like a dagger through the skin.

The figure theatrically jumped and sniffed the air with relish. He laughed the same high giggle as he turned around to face Ivory.

The man’s head was covered in a worn mask, haphazardly resembling the wild dog look of a Hyena. The skin was patchy, and an unpleasant shade of green; the hair matted with blood was disturbingly authentic to the actual animal. He wrenched the bloody panga out of the corpse and slowly started walking towards Ivory- laughing all the while.

(The Laughter of Hyenas)

Even though this is from a scrapped version of The Laughter of Hyenas, I am very proud of what I came up with, and I look forward to reviving it in some way.

Another example I would like to provide is from the upcoming novella/story in Eight Nightmares called The Fang and the Claw. I first got inspired by this title by listening to the Powerwolf song Varcolac, the song has nothing to do with the story, but it did get me to do some research for once into Romanian myth. This would blossom into The Fang and the Claw I would love to show you guys someday.

I write down a pivotal scene or tone that would set the story. I plan to start for The Fang and the Claw after our protagonist comes home following the stalemate at the Night Attack at Targoviste:

The snow fell heavily that day as I rode back along the main road back to my farm. I couldn’t shake off the blood of the night before; it had crept under my skin; no matter how many washes in the stream I took, the blood would never leave me, nor would the screams, the faint howls, shouts, and screams of the men being cut down, would not leave me. The main road was lined with flowers, wooden steams, the pale fleshy blossoms laying limp beside the steam, the crimson stained the steam, and pure white snow underneath. Vladimir had such a way with the Ottomans. The flowers stretched into the distance, an endless corridor of crimson and white.

(The Fang and The Claw beta opening)

Please keep in mind that this is an early beta draft, things will change, and there will be more polish in the final version. However, it can show how I translate the basic idea of a rough idea of Romanian Warewolf and turn it into a dark tale of loss and grief or the horrors of war.

One of the processes I love about writing is how ideas and basic concepts morph and change into a story, how a single day, a single song, or a concept can grow into a story, a world, and a universe. It’s how J.K. Rowling started with Harry Potter or J.R.R Tolkien. Ideas come from the media we consume, the environment we grew up in, and our own struggles and victories. My work differs from this; the astute reader will notice recurring themes and concepts. The one I will give for free involves about four of eight stories within Eight Nightmares containing post/ apocalyptic imagery, roughly quoting my artist’s observations.

Make of that, as you will, considering what South Africa is currently going through. Artists typically don’t make something out of anything for no reason. Art is a conversation with yourself, to quote a friend of mine.

Cheers for reading!

Acknowledgments

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