Connect the Dots

My brain has a natural inclination for puzzles. Whether a jigsaw, crossword, or even putting together an efficient driving route in my day job, my mind relishes the act of putting pieces together. I don't honestly know where this particular knack came from, or even when it started, but there it is, just the same.

This zest for problem-solving has served well through various positions I've held throughout my life. I've been a jack of all trades (or Jane if you prefer) but I've found over the years that I am most satisfied when my line of day work allows me to exercise that jigsaw-loving part of my brain.

It occurred to me only recently, that writing fiction is not unlike a puzzle, and though perhaps a simplistic comparison, I found myself considering the act of writing fiction akin to connect the dots. The simplest of puzzles, most assuredly, yes? On the surface, perhaps. Draw a line from A to B or 1 to 2, etcetera. Sometimes we see that straight lines are not entirely appropriate, that the line should actually curve in order to make the overall picture better.

To me, writing fiction is a lot like that. You have a starting point, and a place you want to end up. There's a visible trajectory in your mind, but point A doesn't necessarily go directly to point B. In fact, that's rarely the case. The trick lies in discovering those hidden dots in between, like they were printed in invisible ink to only appear under certain circumstances. The light of the full moon? A post-midnight jag at your computer, or if you're mildly archaic like me, with a notebook and pencil in your lap during the small hours of the morning? The dots begin to materialize out of the ether.

A goes to B, yes, but B is no longer the next point in your narrative. The line from your starting point to where you want to end up is too direct. So your original point B shifts down the progression of the alphabet to Q or X. Events unfold before your eyes as you discover new stopping places in between. Draw the lines, connect the dots, make them curve when you see it fits. It's up to you, the writer, to create this map to lead your readers on the journey you wish to take them on. A to B, and on we march, until we arrive at your former B, which is now Q or X or somewhere beyond. This is the puzzle fiction writers must solve, and finding your way back to that original destination point is eternally gratifying. I wonder how many others share this point of view. What is writing fiction like for you?