I’ve been reading a lot about _monsters_.

As I write two adventures for Monster of the Week, I’m realizing there’s a reason they suggest you start with the monster and work from there….the number of monsters, mythological threats, and otherwise spooky entities living in my head is large, but the details on them are thin.  This is how I spent tonight googling things like: 

monsters that guarantee youth
pied piper
doppelganger
curiosity monster

I’m having a grand old time writing these monster mysteries, even as they totally thwart me at every turn. Monsters are so rich with metaphor & meaning…and they can act in so many different ways! Sympathetic or scary, well intended or strictly evil.  I wondered if it would feel limiting to stick with monsters & this specific rule set, but there’s plenty of room in here to get lost. 

A thing I’m learning: I could be more decisive, but especially when writing fiction. There’s something kind of intoxicating about a wide open world, especially a mystery that hasn’t been pinned down just yet. So I leave open tendrils, storylines, decisions, and then fret over them for way, way too long. I’m trying to decide now how to push forward, to start sewing up those details.

It’s like putting a dog on a short leash, but I have a deadline! There’s a game to play!