Story ideas
for me don’t come in sweeping arcs of setting and events. They come in the form
of a question, usually begin with “what if . . .” and it snowballs from there. The
question becomes the impetus for the story. The story is the answer to the
question. Sometimes the answer is a short piece of flash fiction. Other times it’s
a sweeping novel. I’ve even got questions that will refuse to be answered in
just one novel, which, frankly, scares me at the moment, but also is very
exciting.
Regardless,
I’m driven to answer the question. I’ve always been that way. What makes this
work? Why does this happen? What does this mean? I’ve always been looking for
the answers to these questions. It’s part of who I am, and writing allows me to
find most creative answers to equally creative questions.
Some people
would replace creative with crazy. I’m fine with that, too. My head is a very
interesting place.