everything falls into place

Writing, to me, is a fascinating process. And even as there is a craft to it that I practice, there's an art to it that I can't really quantify or control. I just had a story fall into place. It's something I've been toying with for awhile, but I knew I was missing that critical something that would make it work. I needed the back of my brain to twist around and throw my environment into inspiration mode. This can be triggered by the oddest things. Sometimes, it's cable at three in the morning. Sometimes it's a random look on a subway. Sometimes, it's half a sermon I heard at my parents church. And suddenly, I know things:

• The protagonist can't be part of the ship's crew. He has to be the one who left it all behind.
  
• The story begins and ends with water.
  
• Nothing makes any sense unless the mentor-figure is already dead.
  
• The horror is not that the monster wins, but that it wins over and over again.
  
• Adrenaline is fine unless there's a risk of losing someone. So the character in question goes and falls in love with someone who does street luge.
  
• It's not that the character is too different from his father. It's that they're too much alike.

It's seldom anything huge. What amazes me is that it's those little pieces that make the whole thing come together, and suddenly, I know that the story will work.