These are the questions that drive writers through their days and nights.
What if?
Any time I’m reading a magazine or newspaper, in the back of my mind I’m wondering what could happen or how I could mix it up. Then when I’m ready to hunt for new ideas, I’ll review links and ideas I’ve collected over time. Maybe the article doesn’t spark an idea right away, but I just proposed a story idea based on an article I saw in 2017. That thought with a few twists has been germinating for more than two years. Maybe now it will have its chance to become a book.
What if is a question authors should always be asking. And then we need to ask it over and over as we drill deeper into the plot and characters. What if she found a body? What if it was still warm? What if it was someone who looked just like her? What if she learns she had a twin she didn’t know about? Etc. Etc. Etc.
Then there’s what next?
I turned in Lethal Intent on February 1. Took a couple weeks to catch up on all of life that fell apart while I was in the deadline dash. While doing that, I ruminated on a few ideas I’d talked about with my editor. These were “I wonder if you’d be interested in a story like…?” conversations. Now I needed to expand them into a page each of three paragraphs that read like backcover copy. The heroines will still be lawyers in various stages of career. But the heroes are a bit of a blank slate. One may be a private investigator if Harper Collins even likes the idea, and I’ve tried to steer clear of law enforcement heroes. Another may be a US marshall assigned overseas because that’s what the story requires.
So today I have a question for you as I ruminate on what’s next as I wait to hear back on these ideas…
What types of heroes would you like to see? Do you have someone you’d nominate for a hero? Leave a comment via the rafflecopter entries. I’ve got a copy of Flight Risk I want to give away. It’s an ARC, but you’ll be able to read it before anyone else.
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Comments 5
I love to read about the thought process authors go through in order to come up with the fantastic stories you produce! Thanks for sharing and thank you for this opportunity to receive one of your thrilling books!
I don’t want a “perfect” hero, it’s best if he has some flaws and things to work through in order to have an interrsting story line. But he also needs to be compassionate and genuine with his heroine. I hope that makes sense!
What if questions was a game I used to play on road trips in the car with my children. It was a window into their reasoning ability and a great way to introduce some safety preparation talks without adding anxiety to the topic so I love your thoughts about what if questions. So what if your characters make a small kindness choice that unexpectedly changes an outcome positively in the end. You often see a kindness that goes wrong but I think our culture needs to see kindness portrayed in a different way right now.Just a thought.
Author
What a great way to while away the miles in the car. And you are so right, Cheryl. We need more demonstrations of kindness in our world.
Tough but tender is my idea of a hero.