How a Stupid Passing Thought Became an Entire Book
[Spoilers for Vagabond Ahead]
I have always had what some might call an overactive imagination. While it can be a curse at times, imagining only the worst-case scenarios and how they would affect my entire future, can be a blessing at others; specifically in terms of storytelling.
It doesn’t take much for me to think up an idea for a new story— it’s my favorite thing to do. I am in a constant state of daydreaming. One thought becomes another, and before you know it, I have a whole story played out in my mind. Sometimes it doesn’t even stem from the fictional worlds I’ve created, but silly passing thoughts that I least expect it.
I recall I was driving— where too I can’t recall, but I remember exactly where I was on the road when I had this thought (not that it matters much to this story). I must have wanted to buy something as I sighed, wishing I could meet a rich doctor to marry so I wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. Being in a place where I wasn’t quite ready for dating yet I also took solace in the fact that since he would be a doctor, I would hardly ever have to see him and have all the time in the world to do what I wanted without obligation to spend time with him. Yeah, I know, that’s a terrible thing to think, but we all have these kinds of thoughts and without this one in particular, “Vagabond” would have never come to be.
The thought continued on, thinking that I might feel a little bad unless we were in on it together, like some sort of deal. But then I thought even that wouldn’t matter as we would probably fall for each other at some point. That sounded like a story. But what if we changed it to a royal and a peasant? I always was one for fantasy stories. Let’s make the girl the poor, traveling minstrel and the guy the prince. One by one, the details all started to come together and before you knew it, I had a full-fledged idea.
I have been working on “The Ballad of Zayon” since I was in high school and I was so sure that this would be my first book, but instead, this random little idea that formed in my head would become my first, full-fledged novel. Granted, it is an extended part of the universe, all taking place in the same fictional world (give or take a few years), but when I finally began to write out everything for National Novel Writing Month in 2016, I just couldn’t stop.
It was supposed to be a one month, short story project. It was only going to be a chapter long, but one chapter just wasn’t enough. They had to meet, make a deal, butt heads, come together, and eventually fall in love all in one chapter. Could it be done? Probably, but so much would have been lost! So I kept going. I added more characters, plot points, and problems until it became a fully fleshed out story. 335 pages later, I had myself a book.
Now here I am, about seven years later from the conception and three years later from its publication, working on a sequel and the trilogy it all branched out from, all because of one silly thought.