Opening the Skull's Trapdoor: Coming Up with Story Ideas by Association

Tonight I want to review another essay in the anthology, How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction, edited by J.N Williamson. I reviewed another essay in this anthology in a previous post. I had some reservations about this book, but, generally, find it quite useful. Here's a link to my original post: Short Fiction: Making the Premise Conform to the Treatment

The essay I’m reviewing is by Ray Bradbury and is titled, “Run Fast, Stand Still, or, The Thing at the Top of the Stairs, or, New Ghosts from Old Minds.” Talk about a mouth full of a title.

I trust Ray Bradbury. Even though his fiction isn’t my favorite, he’s a celebrated writer in the genres I care about. And so, any advice he gives on writing is worth our attention. 

His essay is somewhat general in approach and offers no pragmatic advice on the actual work of writing. It does, howoever, offer some very good advice on coming up with ideas.

It’s a kind of personal manifesto, an attempt to articulate where his ideas for his stories comes from. The most striking element of this essay is his description of his “list.” 

In this essay Bradbury describes a list of nouns he composed early in his writing career, and of this list he writes, “I was feeling my way toward something honest, hidden under the trap door on the top of my skull.” 

He talks about writing stories based solely on a single noun like “The Lake,” or “The Ravine,” or “The Basement.” In prose that is part revelry and part personal memoir, Bradbury makes a case for composing narratives through a kind of unconscious process of association. In other words, he suggests you think of a few nouns and just start telling stories about them. 

Let me give this a try. The Rock. Can I tell a story about “the Rock.” Hmm…

Let’s imagine a giant rock with a flat plane at the top. It’s kind of a stage, high up in the sky. Below it people gather, late at night. They stare up at the rock, where there is a fire burning. There is a priest up there. A table. A knife. Some burning incense. And, of course, a sacrificial victim.

Whew. That was strange. So it can be done! There be a story there!