Writing LEAF

How does a story like LEAF begin?

I first thought of LEAF while I was writing a series of stories about nature. At the same time I was playing with drawing…I’m not an artist, but I was using a pen and simple strokes to make cute(?) characters.

The original idea of LEAF was two leaves, next to each other on a branch, that fell in love. I drew them side by side, and the story was going to be called LoveBuds. (Lovebuds is kind of slang word in America, but also a “bud” is a young leaf). The two leaves would grow up with each other and have various experiences together, but the story didn’t feel very dramatic so I stopped working on it.

A little while later, we went to the Big Island of Hawaii. We had a lot of powerful experiences, including swimming in the blue ocean, walking under giant trees by the seashore, and floating in a warm pool under the stars. Through all of this time my mind started to relax and unwind, and then one day I was laying in a hammock staring at an amazing green tree that seemed to shine with a bright light, and I thought in a flash about that story of the two leaves.

The idea I had in that moment was to put the two “lover” leaves on separate branches, and suddenly the sweet story had more depth and conflict and emotion. The two are in love, but they can’t touch each other, ever. They can just hold on and call to each other and pray they might be together, even though it will never be. This reflected the experience of people I knew as well, holding on for a love that might never come, but wanting it so deeply…

(to be continued)