on writing: mammal brain getting the upper paw

Sitting around last night waiting for my dinner companion, I pulled out my notebook and started playing around with a term in the book I knew I was going to have to replace [because it had all the wrong overtones]. I used the same method I use when coming up with titles, learned during years of packaging meetings (aka 'cover conferences'): I wrote down as many 'trigger words' as I could think of, in order to make my mind seize on one.

magic
retained
blood
spit (spittle)
bones
mage
sperm
condense
vital
(etc)

From the list, ideally, I'd connect and combine and be thus inspired.

While doing that, part of my brain chewed over what it was I needed the term to do -- what load of the story it was supposed to carry. What is the term describing? What does it do? What IS it, on more than a surface level?

That in turn brought me to another question: what does the presence of this term imply/signify about the culture? I thought I knew, but if the term changed, then maybe so did the significance? Words have power, after all...

and just like that I understood something about the culture that I hadn't before, and saw how it tied into the world as it was set up, and the motivations of the characters, and instead of two layers to the story, suddenly I had a third that wouldn't change anything that was done but deepened the motivations -- and the cost -- for doing it. One very large step closer to daylight.

I still don't have that new term, though. :-( That's on the docket for today.



Also, if you ever break a toe and have to get dressed and go outside? Cowboy boots. Spectacular protection.