G.H. Eckel
Inspirations for a New Novel:
I keep a small notebook (I know, old school! Pen and paper!) in my back pocket so when an idea strikes me, I can write it down immediately. Ideas typically come from thinking about something I'm dealing with in the present. For example, if I'm at an art gallery, I might riff on an idea about the night janitor being an amazing artist who secretly places his own paintings on the wall at night. (Wait. Let me write that down.) What I don't do is sit around trying to think of a new idea.
Inspirations for Novels I'm Writing:
When I'm in the middle of a novel, the characters stay with me throughout the day. Anything that happens to me that's interesting I explore to see if it doesn't fit in with something one of my characters might do. I write in the mornings when my brain is kind of quiet. That leaves me the rest of the day to wonder about what is going to happen next. As long as I know what's going to happen for the next hour in my characters' lives, I can write in the morning. If I don't, then I stare at the blank computer screen and write a bunch of junk until I do know what they're going to do. Sometimes inspiration doesn't land on my shoulder and brute force has to take over. :-)
I keep a small notebook (I know, old school! Pen and paper!) in my back pocket so when an idea strikes me, I can write it down immediately. Ideas typically come from thinking about something I'm dealing with in the present. For example, if I'm at an art gallery, I might riff on an idea about the night janitor being an amazing artist who secretly places his own paintings on the wall at night. (Wait. Let me write that down.) What I don't do is sit around trying to think of a new idea.
Inspirations for Novels I'm Writing:
When I'm in the middle of a novel, the characters stay with me throughout the day. Anything that happens to me that's interesting I explore to see if it doesn't fit in with something one of my characters might do. I write in the mornings when my brain is kind of quiet. That leaves me the rest of the day to wonder about what is going to happen next. As long as I know what's going to happen for the next hour in my characters' lives, I can write in the morning. If I don't, then I stare at the blank computer screen and write a bunch of junk until I do know what they're going to do. Sometimes inspiration doesn't land on my shoulder and brute force has to take over. :-)
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