Friday, February 19, 2021

Writers and Where They Get Their Ideas

It’s time for a monthly group blog. Thanks, Rhobin for pulling this together every month. This one looks like a fun one. Where do you get your ideas for stories? It’s also a little difficult. I write romantic suspense and ideas come from all over. I may hear about a mystery or crime. Or a character comes to me with a history.

For example, cloning was big at one time and there was a lot of discussion on allowing it pro and against. That got me thinking about possibilities and I did some research and By Design became a book.

I attended a conference in Reno, and we visited the Sheriff’s department. One of the female officers worked the Cyber Crimes Against Children Unit in internet chat rooms. She tracked down and caught pedophiles trying to lure young people into sexual situations. Don’t Go became a book.

I was at another conference. This one was held in the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. There’s a balcony overlooking the grand lobby and registration area. I was looking down on it and I imagined a cowboy, with spurs, striding across the marble floor in the lobby. A total contrast. He became the hero, and I wrote the book Hunted. It was the first in the series and the next books build on it.

After visiting New Orleans, and seeing a ghost (but that's another story), I decided It was a perfect spot for a murder and a mystery with a touch of voodoo and paranormal. So I wrote Death Southern Style. 

I believe women are equal to me (if not superior). I feel women should be valued and not exposed to physical, mental, or emotional abuse or treated as second class citizens. I think I read about a woman being put to death, maybe in Saudi Arabia for adultery. The man went free. I wanted to write about women who were saved by other women. I developed a team of trained, funded, women who could save other women. That book is The Foundation, Sara's Story, The Fourth Victim. It’s the first in a series.

So. where do I get my ideas? They can develop from so many different ways. I think you have to stay open to what you see, hear and feel and take that kernel of an idea and write it from your perspective and with the help of your muse. In my case, I also add a romance and a Happy Ever After ending.

 

I’m looking forward to seeing where all these other authors get their ideas.

Skye Taylohttp://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2eA

Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

Judith Copehttp://lynx-sis.blogspot.com/

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com

 

13 comments:

  1. Hi Beverley, I think the 'kernel of an idea' will be something we Robins all relate to. I was interested in your harvest of books from conference expeditions. I wonder if one's artisitic sensibilities are heightened in those circumstances? Anne

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    1. I hadn't thought of that Anne, but it's certainly possible. There's always a lot of positive energy when a bunch of writers get together.

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  2. Your experiences resonate with me. If we are open to them, things happen all around us all the time. I have a whole file full of "ideas" partial plots and even character descriptions with backstory that came to me while at workshops, visiting interesting places or hearing other people's stories. You've put your experiences to good use.

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    1. It sounds like a lot of us have those files full of ideas.

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  3. Love you comments on women--I so agree. I'd expound on the topic but don't want to bring politics into our discussions. And yes, Anne is right, I also love the 'kernel idea.' They can grow into such astounding stories!

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    1. Yeah, I limited my comments of women to the story. I could say a lot about the treatment f women but I won't go there either.

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  4. The world is just one big inspiration, isn't it. I've had numerous ghostly encounters, which is part of what inspired the ghosts in my upcoming release. I think it's Dubai (and the UAE) where, if a woman is raped or sexually assaulted and she reports it, she's tried and generally found guilty. This has happened to a number of Western women who've gone over there to work. It's appalling. I love that you're writing about it in your stories.

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  5. I think as authors, we create the world as we want to live in it. I prefer to be entertained by books and by movies. I don't want to read about how fraught with fraughtness, or how deeply disturbing and unfair life can be. I live on this planet, so I'm aware of all that. I want to read about how to triumph over all of that. Throw in a romance and some sexy times, and I'm your devoted fan! LOL.

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    1. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Fiona. I'm all for romance and HEA.

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  6. I have been to several conferences and always have come away with something (and not necessarily from any of the presentations I attended) that have given me a nugget to work on. Watching other people, listening to their conversations, it's all grist to a writer's mill.

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    1. You're so right about what you take away from conferences. It's often from what goes on around the conference, the atmosphere or the location.

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  7. Beverley, yours happens to be the last post in our round I visited, and you managed to include something none of the others of us mentioned: current affairs. Naturally, I am sure that's a big source of ideas, but good for you for spotting it.

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