My #Ideas: The #Process

Hey Everyone!! :-)

I've had several emails from people asking me where I get my ideas, so I thought I'd tell you all a little about my process today.  My first book, Taken By The Huntsman, came to me almost fully formed in a dream, but since then I've had quite a few more ideas for stories.  So far they've all started with a character who comes to tell me they have a story that needs to be told.  This happens when I'm mopping the kitchen floor, doing the grocery shopping, brushing my teeth, etc.  My mind will be wandering as I'm performing some mundane, routine task and all the sudden a character will be there scolding me for not having told their story yet.  You know how some people say they have angels or devils on their shoulders? I have fairies on mine. ;-)

As the character talks to me, the story plays out in my head in a series of pictures, almost like a television show playing behind my eyes.  I can see the world they are talking about, and I can see the people they are talking about too.  It's all very vivid and exciting, and a little bit strange too.  After all, how many people get to meet a dragon? Yes, there will be a dragon at some point, but I won't tell you when. So there! ;-)  I can talk to these people and wander around the world, sometimes I'll even find someone there to answer the questions I have about the things that I "see."  It doesn't usually take very long before the whole story has revealed itself, and I'm just left to fill in a few details and polish off the edges when I write it.  But that's another post. ;-)