For inspiration, I frequently turn to Patricia Highsmith’s classic on fiction writing, “Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction.” She turned out many psychologically gripping tales, including “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Strangers on a Train,” during her heralded career.
What makes this book on writing so relatable is the very intimate approach she uses in her creative process. She takes the budding writer down a path where they can understand the day-to-day decisions she made that contributed to her successful prose writing. And, perhaps more enlightening, she talks frankly about her failures – the germ of an idea that, in the end, didn’t pan out.
Both features provide a launch point for one’s own creative endeavor. Ideas have a life of their own. Highsmith remarks that “ideas are my favorite form of blessing.” At a certain point, they gain traction in the mind and begin to grip the artistic trail. Or they don’t. Those unfortunate ideas must be abandoned after several attempts to generate momentum have failed.
But she encourages the young writer to not give up the chase. Highsmith refers to ideas as birds that one sees out of the corner of one’s eye. She “may try, or not try, to get a closer fix on those birds.” She remains steadfast in her search, no matter if one of those birds slips away.
Highsmith maintains that the first person one should entertain is themselves. She writes, “if you can amuse yourself for the length of time it takes to write a book, the publishers and the readers can and will come later.” This advice can be readily applied to other artistic paths, such as choreography or painting. If an idea doesn’t seize your imagination after some concentration upon it, then let it alone. The idea needs complications and embellishments which may appear on the horizon at a later point. Highsmith insists that the writer remain flexible, and to approach the creative process in a casual and unstrained fashion.
If an idea hasn’t found its own footing, then let it lie fallow for an indeterminate length of time. The idea may develop when left alone for a while. Turn your attention to another idea, one that may unfold in a more promising way. Don’t beat yourself up if an idea doesn’t blossom – it may just need a longer spell to germinate.
