***The following post was written after I wrote the first three chapters of this story, formally known as "The Tower" now entitled "FailSafe." I'm including it here because it's part of the whole package.***
So I'm seeing that my new story, "The Tower," has taken on epic proportions. I knew I had to write another story about Mr. Gryphon but I didn't know what to write. I just started the opening line and then we were climbing the stairs in The Tower. I didn't know about the Stranger until I literally looked out the window in the story. I did scare myself too because I saw the Stranger for the first time when I wrote those words. Likewise, I didn't know Mr. Gryphon was going to be killed until I couldn't hear him climbing up the stairs. Everything is unfolding as I'm writing or minutes beforehand.
Such is the creative process. Almost all my stories with Mr. Gryphon unfold like this as they go along. I was surprised about the Rocketeer. I thought he was gone a long time ago. I knew he was going to pull me through the door but only after the door appeared and I pushed it open.
I have a vague idea how the story as a whole will end but I didn't know the Stranger was me until they were carrying me to the clinic. They say we battle ourselves in stories and that's what mythology is supposed to show us.
Sometimes when I'm working on my novel things unfold like this but more often than not I attempt to do some advance planning. Lately, though, I'll write a scene and forget about it. When I go back to read it I've been pleasantly surprised.
All the characters here existed before in other stories or there have been references to them on my blog. There are three other aspects of myself: my 36 year old self, my Dead Self, and April. In truth, all the characters are me but those three are most directly me. April is a teenager and lethal when she wants to be. She is very dangerous. It's probably why she looks like Go-Go.
The Forest of My Imagination consists of the Library, a massive cathedral-like structure I dreamed about a few times. There's a huge maze in the basement with many blue doors. The doors shift and move around all the time so it's difficult to find the door you're looking for. The doors have signs on them that say things like: "London in 1875," the "Song-Every Day Is Like Sunday," and "The Ed Sullivan Show Featuring The Doors." If you go through the door you'll find yourself there. I can travel back through time, into songs and books, but not forward in time. There's also my living quarters where Chapter 2 of the story takes place. A conservatory, gardens, and observatory are in the "backyard."
Also in the Forest is a 20 bedroom mansion situated on a hill that used to belong to Mr. Gryphon, but now belongs to everybody else who lives here. There's a smaller maze with blue doors in that basement. There are the picnic tables in the forest, the Still Pool which is really a vast lake that goes back into the mountains beyond, and now The Tower.
On a parallel plane is the Burned Out Place Of My Nightmares. It's another place that I've dreamed about many times. Most significantly, my dream with April took place here. The landscape is desolate with very few trees and shrubs. The ground is stark and cracked. It seems as time goes on there are more and more crashed cars, planes, and other vehicles. Everything is rusting out and most of the vehicles are broken apart and lying upside down or on their side. It's not always dangerous but there's always that possibility.
Further out from the Forest is The Garden of Eden, Hell, and various points in between. I've written about all these places in stories before so all of them are fleshed out.
I'm not sure why I'm revealing all this information right now. In the past I've been loathe to disclose anything pertaining to these subjects but I feel compelled now just like I feel compelled to write this story down. I guess we'll see how it goes.
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