Indeed, strictly speaking, it is useless to attempt to express the nature of a thing abstractedly. Effects we can perceive, and a complete history of those effects would, in fact, sufficiently define the nature of the thing itself. We should try in vain to describe a man’s character, but let his acts be collected and an idea of the character will be presented to us.
“What I usually have is a strong sense of at least one of the central characters and a strong sense of the beginning, and a vague sense of where the narrative is going, and more than anything else a psychic head of steam, a compulsion to tell the story. If I don’t feel so compelled, I’m better off waiting. Beginning too soon only prolongs the writing more than anything.”
Steve Erickson