Leaving the Door Open…

Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.

-Stephen King, On Writing

Stephen King has always been an important part of my life. I grew up reading Uncle Steve’s work. Although I always knew I wanted to be a writer, I never imagined I would be a horror writer like him.

Life can take you in interesting directions if you let it.

Which brings me to something I appreciated only as I gained more experience in the craft.

A writer needs to keep themselves open to the unexpected.

More than a few writers I’ve known put out one or two drafts and declare they are finished. No need for editors, beta readers…as far as they’re concerned, the work is done and dusted. It’s ready to publish.

They’re missing a vital part of the process.

I compare it to cooking a meal.

When you start, you need to focus your attention on your assembling the dish, preparing your ingredients, combining them, letting them cook for the required time. But before you put the meal on the table, it’s always a good idea to have someone else taste the dish. Does it need a little something more? A dash of salt or a sprig of thyme? Maybe a splash of wine?

If I didn’t let other cooks into my kitchen, I would never have created one of my most beloved characters, Norm the owner of the New Age bookstore Mote It Be.

Here is Norm ’s origin story.

One of my beta-readers agreed to look at Darkness Below when it was in its early stage. He enjoyed the book’s quick pace, but he wanted a chance to look around and absorb the atmosphere. A season ticket holder at Disneyland, he compared my early draft of Darkness to a ride that was nothing but twists and turns.

“I need a moment to catch my breath and take things in,” he told me.

He got me to thinking about one of my favorite rides, The Haunted Mansion.

Sure, you get on a car that twists and turns and takes you through an incredible world. But before that, you enter a large room with paintings that elongate as you go down the elevator that takes you to the ride. You walk to your waiting ‘doom buggy’ down Gothic corridors populated by employees dressed in funeral director’s uniforms.

The designers of this ride took time to create a mood.

I already decided that Ellen Logan would work part-time while she attended Miskatonic University. What better way to create a Haunted Mansion mood than to have her work in a bookstore that caters to the Miskatonic crowd?

The moment I added that small pinch of spice, the flavor of the dish deepened. Norm and Mote It Be added something that was missing.

Norm is a character I plan on using in future installments of the series.

And all this wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t listen to my reader.

If I didn’t follow Uncle Steve’s advice and rewrite with the door open.