So, shortly after I finished my first story, I started on my second, Unfinished Business. The posts on the second Monday of the month will focus on that story, and the creative process behind it.
All from a thought
The idea for Unfinished Business came from a simple thought: Why do we never see elves and dwarves in a modern setting? This being me, it led to a cascade of thoughts, like what would that look like? How would it work? What kind of plot can I create there?
The first two of those questions had easy-ish answers: For the sake of simplicity, a lot like our world, and due to the difference in lifespan between elves and humans, the educational system would be weird, never mind employment and politics. The third question was much harder, until I remembered about a very interesting trope I wanted to play with: Unfinished Business. To put it simply, the idea that ghosts stay in the world of the living because they have something they want or need to do before moving on. This involved creating rules for ghosts existing but allowed me to sidestep the whole education system thing. Even as I finished Raven, this story idea was churning in my head. It also gave me an excuse to create and kill elven Hitler. He’s backstory, though.
Yep, I took what I like to read, lesbian protagonist focused fiction, combined it with something I wanted to read, elves and dwarves in a modern setting, and threw in something I wanted to mess with. The result is a new, interesting story.
Next month
I’ll talk more about the plot next month, but to focus a bit on worldbuilding, I had to figure out how elf/dwarf/human relations would work, what sort of attitudes they would have about things, etc. It wasn’t a fast process. However, I did know it would need to have a lesbian protagonist, and it would need to involve ghosts, which simplified things a bit and provided direction. From there, I managed to develop and refine the idea into something fun and useful. I also decided that it would be more lighthearted, and comedy focused. I know some people think that the best art is dark and edgy, but personally, I just write what works for me.