If Lewis Carroll taught us anything, it’s that rabbit holes can only be found by the truly mad. I like to believe the White Rabbit has a carefully selected Rolodex of eccentric people to streamline his targeting process. Madness is also a common affliction amongst writers. (I say this with deep affection, of course.) Any person who chooses to be led primarily by their imagination can’t be entirely sane. Whenever I pitch my manuscript ideas to my friends, I feel like they’re moments away from measuring me for a straitjacket.
But are rabbit holes inherently bad? I don’t think so. After all, they do call it Wonderland for a reason. Follow me as I tumble down a few of these portals in pursuit of wielding their potential.
Fear the Jabberwock, Embrace the Rabbit Hole
Though my Wonderland isn’t as gloriously populated as Alice’s, it still produces equally fearful monsters. My Jabberwock is called the Internet. The scariest thing about this beast is that I still trick myself into thinking it’s a rabbit hole. In my eyes, a rabbit hole is an unexpected divergence that ultimately leads to something of use. The internet rarely accomplishes this.
It always starts innocently, of course. One minute, you’re researching suburbs in Pennsylvania for your novel. The next, you’re browsing French villas on Zillow. (You can totally afford five million euros, right?) Suddenly, you remember those pants you’ve been eyeing online went on sale today. Every notification screams, “Click Me!” in an adorable, sugary font. You realize you’re not in a rabbit hole at all. Instead, you’re slithering down the throat of a horrible beast.
True rabbit holes may initially feel just as perilous and disconcerting. Halfway through writing a poem, I may suddenly fly into a fury because I recall a beautiful thing I read six years ago. I must read it again. I lose a good two hours of my day chasing this rabbit. It would be easier if I could check out files in my brain like a library archive. Oh, well.
I never managed to wrangle the rabbit I was first chasing, but miraculously, my poem is now finished. My journey to find that bygone piece pushed me to recreate its essence. In the absence of the real rabbit, I fashioned a new one.
There’s a delicate distinction between the rabbit hole and the Jabberwock. Both are maddening, yes, but only one ends in satisfaction. To be swallowed by the Jabberwock is instant death. To be swallowed by a rabbit hole is to test your writing mettle.
A Cheshire-Like Composition
My rough drafts are constantly morphing and shape-shifting like Alice’s friend, the Cheshire Cat. (I also suspect they are laughing in a similar mocking tone.) Because of this, I often find that I am the architect of my own rabbit holes. Whether this also makes me the architect of my own destruction, I will leave you to judge.
My rabbit holes are called projects, and I have many of them. Some are novel drafts, some are poems, and some are articles like this one. They weave in and out of each other as if connected by an underground tunnel system. Perhaps I am the rabbit that my writing is chasing. If they could just hold me down, I would produce the excellence they crave.
But this chaos has its moments. I can never be bored with my writing when I have so many projects to choose from. If one rabbit hole dries up, I merely hop down another. I trust they will each reveal their Wonderlands in time. The key is not to force them.
We’re All Mad Here — So Let’s Celebrate It!
The stigma against rabbit holes is born from an inane idea that writing must be accomplished in a linear model. I confess that I used to believe authors sat down and wrote their books in reading order (chapter one, chapter two, etc.). It wasn’t until I became a writer that I realized how silly this was. I don’t believe I have ever written anything in such a strict manner. I am constantly jumping from beginning to middle to end. If my thought pattern is never sensical, why should my writing be so?
Next time the White Rabbit hops across your writing desk, follow him. You never know what Wonderland he has waiting for you.
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