J.K. Rowlings said that she was inspired to write Harry Potter while she was riding a train. She imagined children on their way to a magical school and the plot developed from there.
Stephany Myers said she was inspired to write the first Twilight book one night as she laid awake in bed. She had an image of a man and woman together. The man wanted to devour the woman but he wouldn't let that happen because he also loved her. The rest of the plot developed from that point out.
Steven King said he wrote Dreamcatcher out of the idea that horrible things happen in the bathrooms all the time; diarrhea, heart attach, slips, vomiting...aliens tearing their way out of your ass while you're on the toilet. The rest evolved from that idea.
Stories don't usually come to writers in their completion. They come bit by bit, flowing in the path of least resistance, like a river. It starts with an idea or picture you can't get out of your mind. For the Raina Kirkland Series, it started with the idea of a normal girl becoming a killer. For The Artist, it was the idea of a killer who used the human body as his clay. For The Zombie Book, it was about nerdy dorks surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.
The idea is like an algebra equation.
Once the idea is solved there is no real rest until it's all written out, perfected and published.
It's helpful and natural that once you start thinking about your idea, complimenting ideas come to the surface. For The Zombie Book, it was the idea of a mom and young child surviving alone. Another idea that came up while researching human activity during war times was the ramped depravities humans are capable of; mass murder, raping, torture, cannibalism... This expands the equation.
Stephany Myers said she was inspired to write the first Twilight book one night as she laid awake in bed. She had an image of a man and woman together. The man wanted to devour the woman but he wouldn't let that happen because he also loved her. The rest of the plot developed from that point out.
Steven King said he wrote Dreamcatcher out of the idea that horrible things happen in the bathrooms all the time; diarrhea, heart attach, slips, vomiting...aliens tearing their way out of your ass while you're on the toilet. The rest evolved from that idea.
Stories don't usually come to writers in their completion. They come bit by bit, flowing in the path of least resistance, like a river. It starts with an idea or picture you can't get out of your mind. For the Raina Kirkland Series, it started with the idea of a normal girl becoming a killer. For The Artist, it was the idea of a killer who used the human body as his clay. For The Zombie Book, it was about nerdy dorks surviving the Zombie Apocalypse.
The idea is like an algebra equation.
Idea + X = A story Solve for X
Once the idea is solved there is no real rest until it's all written out, perfected and published.
It's helpful and natural that once you start thinking about your idea, complimenting ideas come to the surface. For The Zombie Book, it was the idea of a mom and young child surviving alone. Another idea that came up while researching human activity during war times was the ramped depravities humans are capable of; mass murder, raping, torture, cannibalism... This expands the equation.
Nerds & Zombies + Mom & Child + Depraved Humans = Story
How do these things connect? Find a starting point and follow the natural flow of events.
So now I have the story's major components. Next, I compile goals to meet. Staying with The Zombie Book, I went into the story with some specific goals in mind.
Goals:
- Bad Ass Mom (who else could keep their baby alive?)
- I love me some Cannibalism (been obsessed since I was a child)
- A Realistic Concept of Zombism (which meant a scientist who understood it)
- A Realistic Survival method (the nerd's bunker)
The equation is coming into focus.
Nerds in bunker + Scientist + Bad Ass with Baby + Evil Cannibales + Zombies = Story
You want to start a story strong and pick your voice. If I were a man I might have started the story from one of the nerd's perspectives, but I'm a lady and a mom. The first part of the equation is in place.
Bad Ass Mom with Baby, fighting Zombies...+ Bring in the Nerds! + Set up for Evil Men & Science.
The story has begun. At this point, I had a rough outline from beginning to end, but everything was flexible and fluid and from point A to Z things changed depending on feelings and new ideas and information coming late in the game. Like in Dungeons and Dragons, the board is set, the players are in place and the rest is an adventure that surprises even the dungeon master at times. Roll the dice!
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