Roots Is All Evil

I was feeling pretty good right about this point. I had finished nine Tales in under 5 months, well ahead of my goal. In fact, the first goal was right around the corner, my public declaration. Me, being a diligent little boy, set right to work on the next piece, "Roots Is All Evil". Right off I knew this story was going to be different than any other I had written just on the basic premise. See, I wanted to tell the story of a particular place, the camp of a prospector high on the Bajazid and diverse visitors he had over the years. There is not much in that description that leaves room for a very dynamic plot, but I knew that. This was to be a portrait of a place.

"Roots Is All Evil" was finished on June 8, 2019, coming in at 4,415 words. It is a series of vignettes spanning a score of years revealing his guests in brief. This parade is connected through an overarching cautionary tale told by the prospector whose claim this is and whose campfire is always warm for respectful company. It all plays through quite nicely, a simple portrait of a lonely man in the wilderness and of the ford near where his campfire waits.

Now I know I say this a lot, but this was a fun Tale to write. I can clearly say why here and that is because it seemed those passing by were already waiting in the wings to tell me what happened when they were up there. It was a straight through write really, as soon as I got the ink flowing. Of the cautionary tale, that is the anchor that ties these disparate visitors together. Of those visitors, I am left with near a dozen solid clues to things that I did not know about and some things I suspected. Of the later, I'd thought Caleb Walsh went upstream. Of the former, those are the discoveries I've only begun to scratch at. This, were I to finish the possibles I've noted down already pulling from this, or which can be hinted in connection, count over a dozen in my notebooks with works finished in that number.

Then there is the one visitor who truly surprised me. His name is Abel Johnson and he late April or early May of 1878 during the thaw from the previous winter's blizzard. I recognized him in that firelight having seen him before. It was at a trading post along the Salt River almost twenty years before. He had been in that cantina when that Dutchman was telling his story about the nuggets of gold in his possession and the two empty saddles of his companions. I did not know his name or even for sure that he existed or would. The Dutchman kept his eye out for anyone following him and I watched as well... but still, I suspected.

I had no true idea how Abel Johnson got here into this story, but I'm glad he did. This character's creation is basically here. When I was writing "The Dutchman", I really was suspicious whether the ruse therein worked but keeping true to that POV, there was no way to put such suspicions earlier. Thus, like a freshly lost tooth, I prodded and prodded and then, when I wasn't paying attention, this guy shows up and I knew then that there was a story unwritten that concludes, or starts, directly after "The Dutchman" and a couple months before "Waiting For Ants". This would prove an immediate inspiration.

I know I say this a lot as well also, but for me, this is an important story. The structure I used allowed me to keep a consistent theme connecting a broad stretch of time, offering me a new way to approach some ideas I had been having trouble with. Immediate inspiration would also prove from this, though it would have to wait 'cause Abel Johnson was really insistent. As well, "Roots Is All Evil" immediately proved itself a source of untapped Tales, ones which allow me to step away from the town proper a bit. It has also put a few makers both geographically and temporally out there which has also already allowed me to connect otherwise unrelated stories. Basically, "Roots Is All Evil" has just been a goldmine for me. (pun unavoidable... sorry)

As for what exists within this story that makes it the story that it is, well, it's got a good lesson behind it, one anyone out prospecting would be wise to listen to. What happened to Bob Macon is a perfect example, as explained by our host here, of why it is better to work toward the center of the creek and to avoid the temptation to start digging around the exposed roots of trees along the creek. Practical advice, really.