How Would You React?
I’m currently focused on my novel Thirteen Covens. I probably shouldn’t admit this but as a life-long occultist I tend to deal with a lot of groups and people (and consequently their emo drama) and let me tell you – a lot of it is wonderful fodder for fiction. Any group really (occult related or not). So late last summer after hearing some seriously wild group drama stories I started thinking, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to stick thirteen covens (who don’t really get along) into the same locale along with some neutral people and innocent bystanders and see what happens? The result was Thirteen Covens. A thriller novel where someone summons the devil and people start dying. In order to break the spell and send the devil back where it came from, they have to find out who raised the devil and come together with everyone who didn’t. This, of course, means getting along despite their differences.
While the plot seems simple in the above condensed version, the story itself is really about the characters and how they react to being thrust into the situation they’re in. People and their reactions, thoughts, and feelings fascinate me. That’s actually where a lot of my stories come from. If X, Y, and Z happened, how would this imaginary person react? What would they do to change the course of events in their favor?
I think that if a writer can really get into the character and give the reader that perspective of the character then you can grab the reader and drag them into the fantasy – emotions and all. And *that* right there is the ultimate goal I have when I write a story. It’s sometimes easier said than done since you may only be able to grab some of the readers and take them along for the ride. Since readers are individuals, they won’t be able to relate to all characters. Grab enough readers and you’ve done a great job.
So that’s what inspired my latest idea. What inspired yours?
🙂
About The FM Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour
Today’s post was inspired by the topic Where I Got My Latest Idea the question in this month’s cycle of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, an ongoing tour where you, the reader, travel around the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. We have all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and find out what inspired their latest work-in-progress, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour. I blog with this tour the 25th of every month. Up next on the tour: Becky Pratt!
2 Comments
Dawn
i love how people come up with their story ideas. That’s definitely one “what if” I can’t imaging coming up with myself. Have fun writing it!
Steph
Thanks Dawn! 🙂