The Idea Factory

Last month, after I sent out a newsletter asking what subscribers wanted to see in future ones, some responded they wanted to hear more about me and my writing process. A few wrote sample questions. The most repeated one was, where do you get your ideas?

I think this is probably the most asked question authors get from readers. One writer--I don't remember who--said they have a pat (sarcastic) answer.

Where do you get your ideas?  Oh, I order them from the Idea Factory in Illinois. Ha-ha-ha. They say it with a straight face and hope the other person has a sense of humor. The thing is, this question doesn't have an easy answer. But since so many people are interested, I thought I'd give it a shot.

My ideas come from numerous places: movies that I think I know where they're going and find out it isn't how that writer wrote it, newspaper articles, songs, things friends say, books, etc.

The idea for Vampires Rule came to me when I was watching a vampire movie (horror movie, not Twilight), and I started thinking about the adjustments a person had to make when they got turned. Then I imagined what it would be like for a person who got changed back into a mortal. Could they return home to their family? Would the family accept them? Would their vampire friends let them go? Could the return to school and take up where they left off?

A lot of my ideas come from questions, strange questions that start going through my head when I'm bored.

The idea for Bait (the Order of the Spirit Realm series) came from how much I love the show Supernatural. It's the best thing on TV, in my opinion, and I've watched each episode at least fifteen times. The older episodes anyway. 

I was thinking about the life of monster hunters and decided I'd like to do a Supernatural type book with a girl hunter as the MC. It seemed only natural to me to make her into a Van Helsing since he's the most famous hunter in history. I also had the idea for a rock star slash vampire slayer a long time ago. Nick Gallos (lead singer for Bad-Rock) was supposed to have his own series, but he fit in so well in this one. 

And he was the perfect guy for Bay-Lee. His strengths make up for her weaknesses, and visa-versa. He says he fell in love with Bay-Lee when she threw him up against the wall and demanded he mentor her like he said he would. This is also when I fell in love with them as a couple. 

My upcoming Dragon's Breath series comes from my love of Greek Mythology, dragons, and boys who dream of being superheroes. 

The Witch-Game books happened because by the time I started shopping my vampire book around, Twilight was a big hit, and publishers repeatedly told me (and my agent) that the market was flooded with vampire books. So she and I decided that vampires and werewolves and ghosts were out. I needed something that hadn't been seen a million times.

Teen witches using their powers to play games at school seemed like the perfect solution. That idea came to me when I asked myself what I would have done at that age if I had powers. The answer? Use them to play games with my friends and influence boys. :)

Anyway, that is how I get my ideas. They come from different places, but one thing is always the same. It takes a long time for them to grow into fully realized material. Sometimes months. Sometimes years. 

NaNoWriMo: Are You Going to Write a Novel in November?

This will be my first time.  I was always doing my own thing before, but a friend mentioned it the other day and I thought it sounded exciting.  What is NaNoWriMo?  If you don't know, I'm sure you've at least heard it mentioned on message boards or on blogs. 

November is the national writer's month, and there are a group of people that host a site to get writer's to write.  This site offers forums where you can get inspiration, advice, or just a kick in the butt if you need it.  Writing is usually a lonely job, so this sounds like a great opportunity to me.  I've been having trouble with one particular book for years now.  I've tried and failed to start it several times.  Maybe participating on this site will help me to not only begin the book, but to finish it.

How does it work?  You join (for Free) and agree to try to write every single day in November.  They have a place for you to post your word count for each day.  If you manage to do at least 50,000 words in November, you win. 

What do you win?  Satisfaction.  And I think they give you what they call a badge for your blog or website.  This last year they had a couple of extra prizes.  Winners could get five free copies of their book from Createspace.  In case you don't know, that is about a twenty-five dollar savings. 

Will you join me in November?  Will you pledge to write every day?  Well, will you?  :)

YA INDIE CARNIVAL: Indie Resolutions

This week at the Carnival we are sharing our Indie Resolutions.  What did we learn this year?  What worked and what didn't?  We will be sharing our thoughts, dreams, and wishes for the new year.  Feel free to share yours with us. 

My Indie Resolutions:

1.  Take Reviews with a Grain of Salt:  This year I published my first three books as an Indie Writer.  Most of my reviews have been good, but there were a couple that had me thinking I should find a new career path.  Other people (writers, friends, and family) told me to ignore them, that some people just want to be mean because they are annonymous and know I can't do anything about it.  Still, it hurts when someone rips apart something that you worked so hard on and put your whole heart into.  If you aren't a writer, think about it this way.  How would you feel if a stranger came up to you and told you that your kids were ugly and shouldn't be in public?  Because that's how I feel when someone slams my characters, plot, etc.  I do want readers to be honest.  If they don't like the book, they don't like it.  I'm just talking about the ones who are mean and nasty about it and you can tell they are just trying to be funny or show how smart they are.

2.  Market without Spamming:  Before I got published I'd never heard about spamming in groups on places like Goodreads, but since then I have been accused of doing it.  Some places don't want you to mention your book at all.  So I vow to find other ways of letting people know that my books exist.

3.  Spend More Time Writing:  My computer crashed a few months ago and I sort of used that as an excuse to procrastinate.  I've been working on finishing up the same book for five months now.  That is a long time for me.  Usually I work on writing at least a few hours each day and all day long when I don't work.  So I promise myself that I will work harder and spend more time with my butt in the chair and my hands on the keyboard.

4.  Daydream:  I got so caught up in the mess that is sometimes my life that I haven't been daydreaming enough.  This is a resolution I know I can keep.  In fact I've already started.  I love to daydream and let my characters live instead of trying to figure out what they should do.  I love to give them room to move.

5.  To Write Entertaining Books:  Most of all I want to write the best books that I can.  I want to touch peoples' hearts, to make them laugh and cry.  Then my job is done.

Please click on the blogs below and read their resolutions too.

.	Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7.	Lexus Luke	8.	Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
9.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	10.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
11.	Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series	12.	Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
13.	Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews	14.	Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
15.	M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping	16.	Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
17.	Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind	18.	Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
19.	Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler	20.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
21.	TG Ayer	22.	Melissa Pearl, author of Golden Blood
23.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga

Finding Something Original to Write About

Now that's a hard one.  I swear, every time I come with something I think has never been done, one of my friends tells me that they either just finished reading a book about it or saw a book about it online.  My reaction?  WHAT???  Are you kidding me?

No, they are not kidding.  This has been happening to me since I first started writing.  I remember being sixteen and thinking I had a killer idea that no one else had thought of.  Then I went to the store, looked at the books, and found that not only had someone else already thought of the same idea, but they'd beaten me to it.  This also happens to me frequently with titles.  Sucks!

Can you guess why I'm writing about this subject today?  That's right.  It happened again.  Because there are sooo many books about vampires and werewolves, I decided to go out on a limb and do something different.  I came up with what I thought was a wild idea.  Then I spoke to a friend in Ohio, and she tells me that she's reading a book that has the exact idea.  ????

How does this happen?  Am I psychic and picking up on other peoples' ideas, or does God give these ideas to several people at once?  Kind of depressing. 

Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me for some reason?