Dark Running

/ P. H. Solomon

Good morning Story Empire readers. P. H. Solomon here with you today sharing about a recent experience, running in the dark. With the short days at this time of year, I usually end up running in the dark or just after. On one of these recent runs, I observed the things about my surroundings in the darkness that set off my imagination.

Don’t get me wrong, I was not running completely in the dark. I wore a headlamp that’s rather bright and there were a few lights to see by on the semi-desolate road on which I ran. Normally, I choose to run in a nearby subdivision where there’s more light on my running route. But this particular evening, I chose to run my regular daytime route on a little used side road that can be very dark in some places. Along the way, it struck me how many houses have been built in recent years by the number of lights coming from them. I was not in a completely desolate place. But, there were plenty of places where it was very dark and my creative mind began to discern a number of story and plot possibilities.

Obviously, the horror genre comes to mind rather quickly, but one thing that really stood out to me in the dark places was how not many decades ago there were no lights on these roads. People go out as much after dark so I was interested to see that contrast as I ran through those places where there were no lights and the road was heavily shadowed.

Additionally, experiencing this type of setting roused my creative thinking in terms of some of my own work. I considered what I might run into the dark aside from a stray dog or area wildlife. Then I considered what things my characters might run into such a situation, remembering I have a whole portion of my book that details my characters running around in a catacomb. The run reminded me how dark something like a catacomb would be without light. And what’s more, magically finding yourself in such a sudden situation. You would be lost entirely, not knowing where to go or how get out.

There is a piece of film from the Paris catacombs which purports to have been found by a cataphile to which I link here if you’re interested to see it. The film footage is of someone wandering around the Paris catacombs, seemingly becoming panicked and finally dropping the camera. My own feeling is that this footage is actually some sort of publicity stunt, but it does underscore that in the hundreds of miles underground in a largely unmapped environment it is easy be lost, injured, or worse, finding yourself entirely without light and despairing very quickly. This is setting at it’s best and what we authors are looking for to capture a reader’s imagination.

Other creative thoughts triggered in my mind as well. I thought about my own characters in that same situation, but they do have some light with which to struggle on when they find themselves in a catacomb unexpectedly. The entire thought process also opened up more of the storyline and opportunities to take advantage of using this simple setting of darkness and the unknown. Oddly, running in the dark was an excellent exercise in jostling my creativity by experiencing the setting in a reflective manner.

Immersing yourself in a setting similar to what you’re writing can be very helpful, even if it’s not entirely like where you are writing. Enough of that setting can really reveal where you may be missing opportunities to express much more of what is going on in your story.

I also remembered some years back when my daughter was in fifth grade and went to a camp where she had to do a walk in the dark, alone. The exercise was meant to teach the children to overcome their natural fears and complete the walk. They were never in danger, but they needed to learn to cope with such a setting. My daughter arrived home having a feeling of being empowered by this short exercise, understanding that darkness was not something to fear but something to work through as necessary. It’s also something to consider for your characters. What are their fears? How will such an experience affect then in the future? Will they be stronger, or will they be debilitated?

Thanks for stopping by at Story Empire to read this post today. If you liked it, please share the post on social media or reblog it on your site. Please leave your thoughts in the comments and I’ll reply as soon as I can.

P. H. Solomon

32 thoughts on “Dark Running”

  4. I don’t think I’d be brave enough to run alone on a dark stretch of road. Too many movies and TV shows start that way and always end badly:) Great post. I can see that experiencing the dark that way would get you plenty of story ideas!

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    • Oh yes. My wife thinks I’m a little crazy. A good light helps. I’m really not any more vulnerable in situation except for visibility but then I see lots of driver’s using their phones so the issue is there in daylight as far as a driver’s attention to the road.

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  5. I don’t believe I’d go into a cave even in daylight. shudder
    I have been in some situations, deep woods, and so forth where it was pitch black and I couldn’t see a thing. Fortunately, I wasn’t alone.
    Even though I know there is nothing in the dark, my imagination readily conjures all sorts of things. A good reminder to do it for our characters as well.

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    • Mae, it dies tap at least a feeling of uneasiness when extending it to imagination if any kind. It’s easy to capture.the feel of settings and the effect on characters. You really did that well in Mothman.

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  7. I often find that wild places attract my Muse. It doesn’t have to be deep in the forest either. It might be the riverbank right downtown. I have an extended scene in Serang where she has to navigate a cave. I’ve been on some cave tours and drew from that experience.

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  9. Reblogged this on The Write Stuff and commented:

    Check out this post by P. H. Solomon on Story Empire today. Talk about a fantastic idea for a scary scene in your next book! You’ll love this one, and I’m sure you’ll remember to share it far and wide, too. Thanks, and thanks to P. H. for giving me some great ideas! Super post! 🙂

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  10. I was also on a cave tour once when they turned out the lights. We were in group of small boats slowly moving along an underground stream, and I remember how absolute the darkness was. Not a gleam on the water, or a reflection from a passenger accessory. Nothing but darkness so black you could feel it. I was terrified. Great idea for a story situation, P.H. I’m already thinking up ways to use this in my WIP. 🙂 Sharing!

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  14. Very few of us ever find ourselves in total darkness. We had a cave tour once and the guide turned off the light – confirming that I would never want to go exploring new caves. Another time in Australia in a timber area, we walked out into the woods and turned the torch off, no moon that night, even though I wasn’t alone it was scary. There was no reason to be afraid but … our ancestors would have spent a lot of time in total darkness – it’s fun to put our characters in total darkness and we need to have experienced it ourselves!

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