Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!
The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!
July 5 question – 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?
I don’t remember most of my dreams. And most of the ones I remember are so scattered that they don’t make any sense. I had a dream that started on a cruise ship (I’ve never been on a cruise) and ended with me running up and down hills somewhere in Italy. (I’ve never been to Italy, either.) I can’t figure out how to turn that nonsense into a coherent story.
There is an exception. Wolves’ Pawn, my first published book, got its start from a snippet of a dream that turned into the prologue. The other two books in the Free Wolves series were a natural extension of that story.
The rest of my stories? They have a way of making themselves known to me. For example, The Marquesa’s Necklace was originally titled The Ghost Who Loved Me. The characters soon convinced me that my original premise for the story was all wrong and I switched it. What was supposed to be a paranormal romance turned into a whole series of mysteries. The Jake Hennessey stories were inspired by a background character in those books.
MY current WIP, The Edwards Agency, is a tribute to a story I wrote over a decade ago, and never attempted to publish. The time just wasn’t right. I thought I’d rewrite it, but soon realized that it needed a total reworking. The new book shares a title, some characters, and a few basic plot points. It has a life of its own, which it deserves.
So, where do my book ideas come from? The characters chose the time to talk to me. It’s up to them.
Find out where other authors get their ideas by following the links below.
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
Hi,
It is good that you let your characters decide when to start a book, because that is probably when you’re most creative.
All the best.
Shalom shalom
That idea makes sense. I often get bogged down in the middle of a book.
Makes sense for me too – just finished a major re-work of a book that clearly I wasn’t yet ready to write.
I waited over 10 years to start the rewrite! (Well, I looked at it once or twice in the meantime and knew I wasn’t ready yet.)
That one dream sounds like an action-adventure, cat & mouse type of story. LOL
It does! I’m sure someone can do it justice. 🙂
I’ve never been on a cruise either. The idea of being trapped in a tiny room on a boat in the middle of the ocean is terrifying. That dream would be a nightmare to me, but going to Italy would be a dream come true!
Going on a cruise isn’t on my bucket list!