When inspiration manifested in my imagination as a strange character, I had no idea what it would demand of me. Our first meeting was unexpected. The character I saw looked straight through me. Our second meeting came about because he knew I’d seen him, and he knew I could release him from the burden of ages. The problem was that I wasn’t willing to do so.
All I had to do was close my eyes, invoke his presence, and he’d appear. But I wasn’t ready. How could I kill someone who was so clearly a part of me?
He’d left me dumbstruck, with a dilemma to resolve, a story to write that I was unable to finish. The answer, when it came, emerged from a growing realisation of a way forward informed by an exploration of the story structures involved.
The sequence of events was clear – but flexible. There could be sub-plots. If there were to be any, then
