Finding the Form with John O’Neill

Conversely, though, I occasionally begin with an ending; but the process is the same, a process of inquiry, but, in this case, it runs backwards – a series of questions about how a certain outcome is achieved. Although with Paisley Black I started with an image, I might just as well have started with the final scene – Paisley Black playing their final gig – and how some people in the audience share in that finality, each in their own way (this then requires backstory). Thus, the story begins to take shape.

The details that give the story weight are often biographical – I do ride the Queen streetcar every day and have witnessed strangers in the grip of emotion. And I have experienced loss, and the rawness of the dire hospital visit, so these details came easily once I’d launched myself from the initial premise.  

The important thing to remember is that the writing is an adventure, the path determined by the story itself, not through some pre-determined plan. For years, as a young writer, I was sort of hamstrung because a certain writing teacher insisted that his students make outlines of their stories, mapping out the plot then filling in details. I could never get past the outline. It wasn’t until I followed the path the images suggested that I had any success, or, for that matter, pleasure in the writing. I know that some writers do prefer to map everything out; but it’s important for young writers to know there is more than one way to proceed. In a sense, it’s a question of your own temperament.