Babel Clash

Robin talked about procrastination - yep, that’s me. A few years (yes, years!) into writing Song of Scarabaeus, I was still only two-thirds done with my first draft because… well, mostly because “there’s always time” to write later. In a last-ditch effort to finish this on-again, off-again manuscript, I grabbed a laptop and a change of clothes, and drove to Middle-of-Nowhere, rural Australia, to stay at a friend-of-a-friend’s empty cottage for two weeks.

No internet, no TV, and a broken heater in the middle of winter. I wrote for two weeks solid with one hot water bottle in my lap and another under my feet. The climax of the book takes place in an alien jungle, and while I had a general idea of its physical structure, my imagination dried up over the details.

Enter the coffee table book. Judging from the other books in the house, its owner had a keen interest in gardening and psychotherapy. But what caught my eye was a huge colorful book on machine embroidery (a craft I didn’t even know existed). The photos of what one could accomplish with a sewing machine, fabrics and threads were incredible. Intricate, beautiful, and best of all - despite being designed by computer chip - organic. Here was my inspiration.

Looking at the pictures and the brief paragraphs of accompanying text, I wrote a list. Thread, stitch, knot, weave, tangle, mangle, ripple, enamel, gossamer, crooked, knitted, patchwork, scallop, silk, feathery, vein, lace… As my alien jungle  became an embroidery project, I was starting to clearly see it in my head, and imagine how my characters might navigate it.

Next time you’re searching for inspiration, try something different. If an alien jungle can spring from a craft book, maybe inspiration for a spaceship design comes from looking at a cell under a microscope. Maybe inspiration for the sound of an alien language comes from… thrash metal?

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