The Well

Sometimes people will ask me where I get my ideas. That varies a lot, but here are some examples.

Jade Mask: I dreamt I was walking down a street in Italy, arguing with Barry because he needed to get something and he was planning on stealing it, and he was not thinking straight. (Barry is not a thief, I am sure.) Also, there was the imagery of the safe, which was stunning, and when you have a haunting image, sometimes those stay with you more. Anyway, the argument happens pretty similar to the dream, except that it is set in the protagonist’s apartment, not on the street. It is set in Rome.

Between the Lines: Years and years ago, I went to a single adult dance, when I was still a little young for them (maybe 26, and even though they are 30 and up, there is more emphasis on the up). Anyway, they do a lot more line-dancing and specific dances there, and two songs that I had never heard before, “I just want to dance with you” by George Strait, and “500 miles” by the Proclaimers. Somehow those songs stuck with me, and ended up part of a Cinderella story set in Connecticut where line-dancing plays a role.

Hungry: Well, this stems from the infamous vampire dream I had in 9th grade, but it has gone through so many changes that the only remnant left is the explanation for why vampires have reflections. Some influence came from other dreams, including one I’d had after reading a bunch of vampire short stories, including “The Girl with the Hungry Eyes”. Even though there are no plot similarities, that’s how Christine ended up being a model.

Past Present: Actually, the ideas for this one had been kicking around on and off based on old relationships and some of the scars that they left, though not necessarily on me. When Josh died, the loss and the reminiscing brought it all together, and it just poured out of me. I wrote the entire thing in a month.

Out of Step: This one came from another dream. In it, I saw the girl I would have been if I had never been fat, and she was pretty shallow and insensitive—not necessary mean on purpose, but with no thought for others at all. There had to be some suffering to rectify that. My trajectory from the injury was largely inspired by someone else I had met who was a champion wrestler in high school, and then was in a car accident where it took him a year to get back his ability after a very brief coma (less than a day). I think it made an impression because television and movies get it so wrong.

Coulrophobia: Actually, it was largely the word. It’s a cool word, and fear of clowns is an interesting concept. I think I may have to rewrite it as darker though. Right now the clowns are coming off too well.

Sometimes it isn’t clear. With Sisters of Justice, I know it was based on my relationship with my younger sisters, but I’m not sure how we ended up as orphans fighting crime in different fields. I had a similar thing going on with Cara (the novel I wrote), but no one had careers yet, and the parents weren’t dead (though the father was gone). Some ideas just stick, and actually, writing is what makes them unstuck.

Once an idea takes hold, it is like there is this story, with its own world, that I visit periodically, exploring it and figuring it out, and seeing what happens. Once it is all written out, I don’t need to do that anymore. Like with Past Present, it is probably not at all commercial, but I could not have written anything else at that time.

Of the things that are on deck right now, one television series and one movie came from dreams, one movie would be a sequel to another movie (which didn’t do that well, so there’s no point, but that wouldn’t stop me), one movie came from a combination of Henry Rollins’ thoughts on dating and my frustration with the powerful corn lobby, and one television series and one movie basically come from thinking something smart alecky and then recognizing some potential.

And I don’t think any of that was detailed enough to be a risk for my intellectual property!

Hip Hop Body Shop (20/60)
Crunches
Mark 12 – Luke 2