Welcome to IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is 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 haven for insecure writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. To find posts from other contributors, click here. Thank you to the July co-hosts: PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!
July’s question: 99% of my story ideas come from dreams
Where do your story ideas come from?
That said, I can pretty much say ideas come from anywhere. Last
week I sat in a meeting about an upcoming kitchen renovation and the designer shared
some intriguing information. As soon as I left her showroom I thought, “That
would make a good story.” Who knew that would happen while waffling over cabinet colors?
One night many years ago, I floated half asleep in the wee
hours when a fully formed voice inside my head announced, “The queen of the
1977 Tarrant County Honeydew Festival abdicated her crown twenty-four hours after
receiving her scepter.”
Huh? Rolling over, I grabbed a pencil from the bedside table
and scratched the words down so they didn’t disappear. I held on to the sheet I'd scribbled them on until I could figure out who'd been talking in my brain. Eventually, a daughter, a mother and a grandmother came to me and their shared story
became one of my “practice” novels.
Most writers know that stories are everywhere. All
we have to do is keep our eyes and minds open. Oh, and definitely put something within reach to record those snippets the midnight subconscious
delivers.
What was the most surprising way a story came to you?
