Usually I'm jealous Thursday, January 25, 2007

Most authors I know have a File. If you're a writer, you'll know what I mean, and if you're a reader with an absolute fave-author, you've probably dreamt of it...A file of bits and pieces of the stories that didn't work at the time, or were headed nowhere...the detritus of a writer's mind.
(Often these lead to the release of posthumous work, when someone finds these nearly-finished pieces and polishes them up, or asks another writer to fill in the gaps. The Silmarillion, by Tolkien, for example)

Many writers I know have completed or near-completed works in their File. As in, "oh yeah, that contest is coming up. I have something in my File I could polish up and send in." Or..."oh, Dayna, you want a 10,000 word story by Monday for a special collection? Sure, I'm sure I can find something in the File that will work."

Normally, I hate people like this :) Our own Elisabeth Drake hears it on messenger--a lot--'I hate you and your 'stuff in mothballs'.' Because I don't have a File. At least, I didn't. And it was pretty depressing, really. I've known I wanted to be a writer since I was three years old...and I have no File!

Then yesterday it happened. I went poking at random .doc files on my computer, and pulled up ten or twelve abandoned projects. I went from no File to a fair-sized one, almost overnight.

Granted, the largest document only has about 2000 words. The smallest one 600. But it's a start. And reading through them, they may not have worked at the time I originally wrote them, but a few--I can do something with now.

So my question today is: If you could take pieces from your three favorite authors, what sort of story would you end up with?

I'll go first ;)

My fave authors are: Guy Gavriel Kaye, who writes historical fantasies, Charles DeLint, who writes urban fantasy mixed with folk legend, and there are a number of rom-susp authors, but I'll pick Kathy Reichs, who writes forensic-suspense. (the basis for the TV show Bones, but her books are so much better) So...my 'file puzzle' would result in a historical fantasy set in an ancient city where fairies lurk in the shadows, following a anthropologist of the time who's trying to solve mysteries. :)
Sound good? I think so, but I'm weird that way! So, what would yours look like?