The Fireflies that Illuminate the Night

The writing of this story has a bit of an interesting story. The notes I have on my computer detailing the original concept are anything but what the final project became. Not that it’s necessarily different, but rather it was not nearly as elaborate as what it eventually unravelled into. Originally the only thought I had in my head was an adult trying to help a younger girl find her dad she got separated from in a shopping center, where in that time together the roles are sort of reversed because while the adult helps her find her parents, she helps him understand himself and his own life a little better.

It was a surprisingly simple concept with a lot of room to grow it into something more. Eventually it became a vessel for a lot more than what I anticipated. As the story began coming together in its early stages, it became apparent that while I still really wanted to transform this idea into a full story, it would be a bit more difficult than I anticipated. This is where a lot of the more specific details began coming into place. I had to develop a plot that would carry the characters through the narrative in such a way where they could come to understand new ideas from one another. Especially that of the protagonist.

So I went about making a conflict that would not only bring the two together, but would also break down what I like to think as the character barrier. This is just the walls and boundaries that I feel a lot of characters I write have. By putting the protagonist in a complicated situation it put them in a position where much of what they are thinking can be questioned, even that of the actions reflecting on the other supporting character of this story.

Of course I don’t know if everyone who reads the story will see it the way I imagined. Which I’m not against. I am all for people interpreting stories in their own way, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a designated message that I am attempting to bring forward in my writing. Admittedly I don’t know if everyone will see what that is in this story only because the major shift in story scenario (which I won’t state as not to spoil) may cause people not to see the story in that way I saw it. Some may see the true main character as someone else, or maybe they will see the narrative being a resolution more for that supporting character rather than the protagonist we are introduced to in the beginning. In reality I like to think both of these significant characters have a major resolution or realization through the events of this story, but I do feel like it can be viewed in a few different ways.

While this tale may have been a bit difficult for me to complete as it went through a whole lot of alterations as it was being written, I still feel a sense of content with how it turned out. It was originally supposed to be something much simpler, and much shorter to be honest. That seems to be a pattern with my writing though. I try to write something actually kind of short (no pun intended) and it turns out to be pages longer than my original plan. The same can be said for the plot of my stories as well. Like I just stated, I always intend for things to be much more rudimentary, but in the end I find my self falling down a rabbit hole of complex theming I want to embellish the narrative with. I always find small ways, that amount to something much grander, to make the story much bigger in scale than what I originally envision. Can’t say I’m too disappointed at that fact though. In the end, as long as the art fulfills what I hope it to, I think I can be pleased with that.