The Opposite of Writer's Block

Those of you who've been following my shenanigans for the last couple of years will know that I've been working on an increasingly lengthy "brief little thing" to get an obsession with one story out of my noggin and into text format. That started in 2022. It's 2024 and I'm looking down the barrel of commencing a fifth GoogDoc before I reach the final words that I have in mind for the actual finish of this thing.

I keep getting ideas for what to stick in the series of epilogues. I have a peace to establish, some weird phenomena to nail down, a legend to grow and an empire-that-was-never-an-empire to confront my main guy with. It's complicated.

Also the rest of his fifteen kids have to make an appearance. And I want to establish all the changes he's making in the world. And then... then... the long term impacts.

Yeah, it's going to be at least five novels. So much for "a brief little thing".

I feel like it's becoming like Douglas Adams' increasingly loose definition of 'trilogy'.

I just wanted to get the pressing idea out of my head and get back to the trilogy I had in progress at the time. So I could get back to hammering out the third book for a completely different fantasy series that I was working on.

It wasn't exciting to write at the time and Kosh was metaphorically poking me in the ribs so... off I went on the brighter and shinier concept.

I want to reach the end of the story. I have an idea of the end of the story. Getting there has a lot of small stories between where I am, and where I'm going. And there's always more and more and more. Loose ends to wrap up in a satisfying manner, or at least make tidy.

Making the visions come to fruition. Making the plans become solid. Making prophecies come true in their own special way. I don't know about giving Wraithvine a "Last Unicorn" cameo in the series of epilogues. I probably won't. I don't think it needs it.

For the unaware, the "Last Unicorn" cameo is where a legendary fix-everything figure turns up too late for the main characters' narratives. The whole "Where were you when I was new?" rant with Kosh facing down Wraithvine for not being there when he was small and needed someone like Wraithvine to make his little patch of the world a better place.

It's not that common and it may indeed be a thing I've cobbled together out of a chain of memes. I think it might be cool, but I don't know if it would actually be cool.

There's a scene a lot like it in my collection of flash fictions. On one hand, it does exist. On the other... does it need to be a part of the greater work? I don't know.

I'll focus on the important bits. The bits I really need to put in there to make it all a whole story. And maybe plump out a book five.

I have too much story. One day I'll find the end of it.