I have also found that story ideas arise from a
lot of sources, external and internal. I even wrote a short story (soon to be a
full length mystery) from a very lucid dream. Sources like that make you wonder
about inspiration. Back in the day these inspirations were often attributed to
a muse or other outside influence, that may still be true today but more can be found just
by trolling the internet or pushed by an advance by a magazine or publisher.
Below are some of the sources for many of my
books, but I’m sure you have your own magic when it comes to source material. I
remember during an interview that Steve Allen, the late gifted writer and comic,
said that he carried around a notebook and then later a small tape recorder so
he could preserve his inspirational moments; today, with your phone, the
ability to keep an idea is just an app away.
Personal
Experience
It is said that a writer’s first book is
autobiographical or to some degree sourced from their past. I have to admit
this is true in my case. Elk River, the award winning novel
is based on my summers in Michigan in the 1950s and people I knew then; yet from
that material (twisted by time and memory) I altered facts just enough to make
for greater conflict and interest. I then pulled some of today’s social issues of
gay recognition and acceptance into the story to add relevance in the farmland
of Antrim County, Michigan. Many have loved the story.
In the first O’Mara Chronicle, Land
Swap For Death, I focused on land developers and politicians -
something that I have found go together like thick bread and sticky peanut
butter. My forty years of experience in the construction industry gave
substance and color to the characters and the story line.
Historical
Addictions:
I am an avid reader of World War II stories,
histories, books, movies, documentaries and even some of the current great web
sites. The inspiration for Toulouse For Death, a thriller about
the billions in gold stolen by the Americans from the Germans at the end of the
war came from this very true story of the greatest theft in the history of the
world (see the book The Monuments Men and
soon to be released movie). I wove it into a historical piece and then a
mystery that ends up in today’s modern world of stolen art and neo-Nazis. The
headlines of the current discovery of stolen World War II art is intriguing. If
it weren’t for the fact I wrote about it before
the discovery means I can’t say, “Ripped from the Headlines!” Quel domage!
Current
Events and Marketing
Often a writer has the opportunity to tie their story
to current events and politics. Witness the profusion of books about the NSA,
terrorists, CIA, and cookie cutter heroes and villains. The usual terror from
outside the United States is vanquished by our hero or heroine thus making the
world safer; but they are all just another Captain America rewrite. Then again you can’t
make up stories like Snowden, Wikileaks, and the NSA spying. Fact is stranger
than fiction. I chose the benign Americas Cup race in San Francisco Bay as an
idea source for the international thriller 12th Man For Death. Both because of
the event’s venues in America, Naples, and Venice but also for its marketing
tails and the fact that it includes huge egos and great sums of money, all spectacular
idea sources. And now with the American win I may get another shot at sales when
it comes around again. Happy day!
I keep an ongoing folder on my computer’s desktop
that says Story Ideas. I post a quick note about a thought, or an article, or even
a web site that might be mined later for a story. But like all prospectors you
have to dig a lot of holes and sieve a lot of pans before finding gold.
So keep track of your ideas, follow leads, read a
lot, and even watch TV (there’s a lot out there and not all of it is
exclusively on Masterpiece Theater). Everything out there can be made into a story, it's the writer that makes it interesting.
More Later . . . . . . . .
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