A Secret, A Dream, and A Cup of Coffee
Where do authors get their ideas?
If you are a writer, you either gush with excitement when people ask you this, or you look at them with confusion and don’t know where to begin.
Ideas are everywhere for writers. I get them from overheard conversations, dreams, a line in a book, or they just hit me while I’m driving down the road.
The idea for Mind of Mine bubbled up one day from a memory of an event I participated in while in college. And part of it wandered into my head while sitting at a coffee shop in Nashville. So, part reality, part dream got together to create what would eventually become Mind of Mine.
As with most of my writing ideas, they pour out of me like that steaming spout of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning. If I try to hold it back, it burns (like the coffee that always dribbles down the pot if I don’t pour fast enough).
Also, writers, you will understand what I am about to say. Mind of Mine looks almost nothing like that original idea. The title is different (another post on that later), the setting is somewhat different, and the overall plot is different—though the idea of mind sharing was present from the beginning. The characters went through a few transformations, but my main ship was always the same. V and Marcus. Swoon.
I can’t say too much here, you’ll have to wait and read about them, but their connection was real the first time I wrote about them (even though their names were different). I began watching V and Marcus (their previous names will forever be a secret) and learned about the force of their unusual connection. I watched them grow up, I watched them mature. I eventually wrote their story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do when you read it.
So, what event in college spawned Mind of Mine? Well, let’s just say it’s not something I am at liberty to discuss. . . Sound secretive? Why, yes. I was a member of a secret society (swift glances back and forth), and a portion of what you read in my book is inspired by something that took place within that society. I will not say more. Happy deliberating!
If you are a member of that group and you read my book, please know that none of the characters in my book in any way represent members of that organization. They are all entirely a work of fiction. And I plan to keep everything sub rosa, no worries.
Okay, writers and readers! Tell me what you think! Writers: where do you get your ideas? Readers: what makes you interested in the origins of stories, or are you interested in them? Do you prefer to just read a book and get lost in the story?
Love and good chocolate to you all.
C.