The Jack-in-the-Box Writer

You turn the crank on the side of the colorful box once, then once again, and then wait. 

You turn it slower and slower, rapt in anticipation of that freaky clown’s surprise appearance when the lid springs open. With every turn, your heart beats faster, and your eyes get a little wider. The chime plays its tune, one slow note at a time, as you get closer and closer to the always surprising endgame, and then…

POP!

Cristian Bortes from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, via Wikimedia Commons

Developing a story idea is similar to operating a jack-in-the-box. The writer cranks the handle by outlining, drafting, and doing the somewhat shocking writer’s task of actually writing. One word follows another, forming sentences and paragraphs representing the writer’s thoughts and vision. When the time is right, the breakthrough comes, and the story “pops”. The pieces begin to fall in place. The once-scary, freaky clown smiles at your accomplishment.

Creators must go through the process every time. Each new work needs the slow crank of the story’s jack-in-the-box to get through the process of creating a satisfying story from an idea. This is how creative development works. 

You work toward a goal. 

You grind it out day after day to what often seems to be no avail. 

You get frustrated. 

You despair. 

Sometimes, you quit and throw the whole draft across the room in the general direction of the freaky clown hiding in his little, brightly painted box. But to those who keep turning the handle of their story’s jack-in-the-box with grit and determination, success will come. 

Plus, it never hurts to bring in outside eyes to look at the raw story and see it with a fresh perspective. That’s where critique partners and beta readers can help turn the crank handle when one feels stuck. Help is a wonderful thing and, at the very least, builds a friendly support crew.

Find a way to keep cranking the handle by whatever means necessary. You will improve. The story will improve.

It is inevitable.

The story will be forever grateful. 

I’ve said this many times in the past, but one of the most important things creators can do is to see the potential in an idea and do the work to help the idea achieve its full potential. One needs to keep working, researching, and turning their cranks of improvement until their story springs upward and shows itself.

Because if you keep cranking the story handle, it will eventually “POP!” and show itself to you and the world.

Just ask the freaky clown! 

Mike Hays

Mike Hays has worked hard from a young age to be a well-rounded individual. A well-rounded sports enthusiasts, that is. If they keep a score, he’ll either watch it, play it, or coach it. A molecular microbiologist by day, middle-grade author, sports coach, and general good citizen by night, he blogs about sports related topics at www.coachhays.com and writer stuff at www.mikehaysbooks.com. He can often be found roaming the Twitter-sphere under the guise of @coachhays64.