Evolution of a Story
Going from idea to publication is a long winding road.
A story is a living creature with a mind of its own.
I've grown to appreciate that fact while writing countless stories. Many remain unpolished or semi-polished drafts. A handful I’ve published over the past five years. I’m always surprised at the turns a story takes on the road from idea to publication. Creating stories is so much fun simply because these tales always evolve in unexpected directions.
If you witnessed firsthand how a talented author takes a two or three sentence idea and turns it into a novel and short story with fully formed characters, settings, and plot, you would walk away feeling impressed at seeing that evolution in action. Creating stories is a dynamic process. Where you begin and where you end are as far apart from one another as the starting line and finishing line on a marathon course.
Alien People offers a perfect snapshot of the evolution process I'm describing. The basic idea sparking the novel originated in my middle school years. I thought it would be cool to write a story detailing aliens making first contact with Earth from the viewpoint of the aliens. My idea kicked around in my head until I jotted down two or three sentences articulating the initial concept. Characters like Calandra and Xttra soon sprang to life as that fictional world took shape.
I've always loved science fiction. I watched the original Star Wars trilogy so much as a child that I memorized the dialogue from all three movies word for word at one time. I also lived outside a small farm town during my childhood. Growing up in a rural area let me stargaze without having stars dimmed by city lights. These elements combined to me forming my own sci-fi stories.Â
When I wrote the original draft of Alien People, it bore scant resemblance to the finished novel that I published in September 2020. I cranked out the manuscript in only three months, writing daily during the summer of 1996. I felt happy with the story I produced and still have a printed copy of that original manuscript locked away at my Dad's house.Â
I harbored dreams of submitting Alien People to a major publisher and carving out a career as a bestselling author. Life got in the way, as it often does, and I put my novel on the backburner. This gave me a chance to tinker with the characters, setting and subplots.Â
Profound changes followed as the story developed. I shifted the main Earth-based setting from Oregon to Utah. Key supporting characters from the original rough draft, such as General Daly, Captain Pollard, and Ned took on much smaller roles in rewrites. A few characters exited the story completely when I realized they did nothing to advance the narrative. On the other hand, Doni earned an expanded role and I added important characters like Atch, Bo’un, and Paige to flesh out the narrative. I tossed aside the original third act completely because it read like a terrible SyFy Channel original movie. I rewrote several major scenes in a profound way to highlight Xttra and Calandra to a greater degree. These scenes retained a few of the original plot beats but now had profound differences in execution. In the end, my original Alien People rough draft resembled a completely different story from the one I sent out into the world.Â
Stories evolve and change in a manner that mirrors how an author's life evolves and changes. As an author in my 40s, I approach stories much differently than I did as a wide-eyed shy teenager or as a naïve and optimistic college student. I weave lessons I've learned and emotional journeys I've taken into the fabric of my fiction. Each story I create has an aspect of my mind and soul stamped into the narrative.
I look forward to seeing how my future stories evolve in the years ahead and seeing what unexpected destinations I’ll reach in my journey.Â
Great post. I ascribe to the idea that nothing has to be set in stone with a story. I believe Ender’s Game was published as a short story long before Orson Scott Card rewrote it as a novel. I think that’s sort of impressive and admirable to know that we can pivot and enhance our ideas even after they’ve been unveiled to the world.
Would love a retelling of this story on your triumphant podcast return!