Where do ideas come from? All along here. We just made a 5 day trip, covering 1700+ miles to visit my aunt. No, it would not have been easier to fly for a wide variety of reasons. Let’s just say, “It takes a village.”
And if we had flown, I would not have this book idea. I’m not going to go into great detail except to describe the initial idea for a panel that sparked the whole idea. We were bee-bopping down the highway just after dark. As we approached the Missouri – Arkansas state line, we watched lightening flashing in the distance. As the rain bucketed down, I thought how a panel would look. A white Ford Edge surrounded by semis speeding through the night. Because of the rain, all you could see were the vaguest outlines of silos.
I could literally see the panel. Then I started brainstorming ideas based on others sites, sounds, and experiences before we reached that point. I listed panel ideas in emails to myself. By the time we got back home, I had ideas for approximately 75 panels. I’m not going to go into greater detail than this but the ideas are all inspired by this trip. By the end, everyone was tossing ideas to me. “Hey did you see that?” “Is that a town name? I wonder what it means.” This is completely unlike anything I’ve worked on before.
I hear that there are people who work on one project at a time. What must that be like? And really? I had plans to brainstorm something new. I brought supplies with me to work on the outline of another project. How many scenes did I add? Absolutely zero. Not a single solitary scene.
But I don’t feel even remotely guilty about that. I needed the down time. I could have used with a bit less auditory stimulation. My husband does not believe in quiet. The radio was on the entire time and I really did enjoy listening to music. The only times I got irritated and turned it off was when DJs talked. . . and talked . . . and talked. Hmm. I should add a panel about that . . .
–SueBE
One Writer's Journey 