I occasionally appear on writers’ panels. Or I used to before the universal shut-down, and you’ll note that’s with a small “u” so I’m talking in broad terms rather than referring specifically to the Universe. Anyway, writers on panels often get asked–by new writers and readers both–how we write. What’s our process? Where to the ideas come from? Most of us can wax on interminably about such things. Then this popped up in my in-box this week.
The real story behind time and space, Silver, goes like this:

Where there was none, now there is plenty. Where there was thought, now there are worlds. Where there was Me, now there is You.

And so the baton has been passed.

Reality—what a trip.

Good God,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

Now, Silver, remember the none-and-plenty bit.

I had to laugh when I read this. It vividly reminded me of my government professor’s description of…well…government. At the process of it. He called it the Black Box Theory. Things go into the mysterious black box that is our government and things come out. Most people don’t really care what happens inside the box because it is messy and confusing. He further refined it by adding that things like demands, necessities, and wants go in. They get churned up and laws, rules, and regulations get spit out.

This is a long story to explain the writing process, which the Universe did so simply above. Where there was none, now there is plenty. Where there was thought, now there are worlds. That’s how it works. A writer starts with a blank page. They type a word. Then another. Then a sentence, a paragraph, and a page. Suddenly, there’s a story with places and people and stuff going on. And after we type The End and the manuscript churns through another black box filled with beta readers, editors, proofreaders, and formatters. It comes out the other side. The author passes the baton to the reader. And so the cycle continues. Now, if it was only as easy as it sounds. 🙄 Are y’all ready for me to pass the baton?