For years, I tried to writer a short story spoofing Shakespeare’s Othello. I wanted to do the same with Hamlet. Nothing I tried would get either of these stories to work and I attempted to get them going several times a year. After yet another frustrating attempt to get each story started, I tried putting Hamlet and Othello into the same story. That didn’t work either because there was nothing linking the two characters. In a flash of inspiration, I added Falstaff to the cast. About thirty seconds later, I knew the entire story (and it was a novel, not a short story).
The novel consisted of three storylines, one each for Othello, Hamlet and Falstaff and they wrapped around each other like strands of DNA. I also knew the endings of each storyline and what the characters were like. In short, I had the entire novel completed but it was all in my head. I still had to write it down. It was a genuine Eureka moment.
I’ve never experienced anything like that before, but I’d love to have it happen again. It was awesome
