How Do I Come Up with My Stories
By Margaret Daley
One of the questions I’ve been asked by readers is how I
come up with a new story. Honestly, there are times I really don’t know how.
Something just pops into my mind—a seed of an idea. I’ll think about the
concept. Sometimes, it will grow quickly. Other times, slowly. The last one was
for my book Deadly Fires, which recently was released.
In this story, I wanted to tie it to another book of
mine—The Knight and the Damsel, part of Rodeo Knights series. So somehow it
needed to have ties to the Knight Detective Agency and have something to do
with the rodeo. My books in the Strong Women Series are romantic suspense so I
need to have a suspense/mystery plotline. Because I wanted to tie it also to
the Knight Detective Agency, one of the main characters needed to work for the
agency. Once I decided the hero was going to be connected with the detective
agency, then that meant the heroine would be running a rodeo entertainment
company.
I then sketched out a characterization for each of the main
characters. As I dig deeper into the story, that sketch will become more
detailed (background information). I start writing with a sense of what the
opening chapter or two will be like. I have a framework for my story, but I
don’t know all the details. I know what the ending will be, but usually I don’t
know who the villain is until I’ve written a good portion of the story. I set
up several people with the thought they may be the villain. This last book, I
thought I knew who would do it but changed it at the halfway mark when another
character shouted he was the saboteur.
The only conclusion I’ve come up with is my muse is God. There
are times I’m stumped with no solution to a problem. Then out of the blue an
idea pops into my mind. Even I am baffled by my creative process. I wish I had
a simple answer to how my story ideas come to me. I’m just thankful they do.
Warning: 3 Sexy Rodeo Cowboys will steal your heart! Get
RODEO KNIGHTS Boxed Set FREE at Instafreebie https://www.instafreebie.com/free/0uuVJ?source=author
June 20th the books below that are loosely tied
to the Knight Detective Agency will release. The buy links to Deadly Fires are: Amazon, Barnes
and Noble, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play.
Posts
I love hearing how each author's process works. We are all so different! And I too struggle to answer that question. Inspiration comes from so many sources.
ReplyDeleteThe progress can be a mystery.
DeleteLike you Margaret, I am sometimes amazed at how it all comes together, especially since I write "into the mist" as they say.
ReplyDeleteIt's the part of writing I love the most--the surprises.
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWriting is a God-thing with me, which you mentioned as well. I often don't know where various parts of the story come from...but wait, I do know. The Lord always provides. :)
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I've always been a fan-girl! The covers on this new series are amazing! They're calling my name.
Wishing you continued success! Will you be at RWA? Hope so!
No RWA this year. I've enjoyed writing this series about strong women.
DeleteI love the line that God is your muse. That's so true! And I'm with Debby...total fan-girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dana.
ReplyDeleteMargaret is my hero! I so enjoyed being a part of this series with Lisa and Margaret. We love our Knights! And Margaret is always willing to help me when I get stuck. She's a gem and a good friend.
ReplyDelete