It seems like it takes forever for the seeds to start to come up. Doesn’t it seem like forever to get a book written?
Seeds are like ideas for stories. There’s a little bit of DNA in a seed with lots of food to feed that DNA.
Sprouts are like stories.
They have roots. The roots are like the back stories of the characters. You may never see the roots, just like you may never see the back story of the characters, but they’re there. If a pest or disease destroys the roots the sprout dies. If your character does not have a back story she may do erratic things that make no sense and throw the reader out of the story. She has no roots to guide her actions. That’s why so many recommend that you write down the character’s back story. One it gets it out of you so you don’t fill the story you’re writing with flash backs, and two you can refer to the character’s back story, that you have documented, to keep her actions consistence.
Sprouts have stems, which are story plots. You watch the stems grow and you feel like they could reach the clouds. The stem is the back bone of the plant and holds everything together, like the plot holds the story together. If the stem is weak the plant falls over. If the plot is weak the story falls flat. Beware of the cut worm. They come out at night and chew through the stem and kill the plant. A critic or troll is like a cut worm. They come out at night and cut the author down. I need a good insecticide for critics and trolls. I got one for cut worms and I don’t hesitate to use it.
Leaves are the work horse of the plant. The first two leaves are like cotyledons, and they are not true leaves. Cotyledons are like the start of a story where you see the character’s normal (boring) life. The cotyledons are quickly replaced by true leaves, the plant’s energy manufacturing work horses. True leaves supply the food for the plant. The leaves of your story is where things happen. Get to the leaves, the real action of your story, as soon as possible. Drama, the conflict (and conflict drives action) is the life of your story. Leaves also supply shade for everyone including us bugs the writers.
Flowers are the best part of many plants. If you’re a bee, you head for the flowers that’s where the good (sweet) stuff is. Flowers are like the plot twists, the reveals, the kiss at the end of a romance story.
Don’t forget the seeds. After the plant is spent the seeds are left to make plants next year. If you’re a writer and want to make a living then you need to plants seeds in your story for the sequel. Writing a series is good business. Seeds are the unanswered questions in your story. It’s always good to have a few unanswered questions. It also a good way of finding out if the read was paying attention and getting feed back that the readers want another story in that universe.
Stay strong, write on, and plant a couple of good stories.
Professor Hyram Voltage