Where do I get my ideas? {#Author Guest Post: Michael Craft}

During the 18 years that have passed since publication of the first of my 13 novels, the question that readers have posed to me most often is, by far, “Where do you get your ideas?” And the question is perfectly logical. Creativity is sometimes described as “making something out of nothing,” so the making of a novel invariably begins with the mere “nothing” of an idea.

We’ve all heard those classic words of advice to aspiring writers: Write what you know. And I have heeded that advice. Many interests that have developed over the course of my life have found their way into my books—theater, music, architecture, running, and more. These interests have equipped me with minor areas of ready-made “expertise” that can add color, depth, and credibility to the storytelling. As to the “germ” of each story, the inspiration, it seems to be waiting for me when the time comes to start a new project. When a new story is looming, I “raise my creative antenna” and put myself in a more receptive mode for ideas. The inspiration may come from a news story, from an overheard snatch of conversation, from a catchy phrase that seems promising as a title, or from something that I’ve been sitting on all my life. But it’s always out there. The trick for the writer, of course, is to learn to recognize it.

Further, because most of my writing has been in the mystery genre, the initial idea for a story may stem from an interest in a particular motive, means, or opportunity for killing a fictitious, though no less hapless, victim. One of my novels, Boy Toy, involved mushroom poisoning, a topic about which I had no prior knowledge. That’s where old-fashioned research comes into play (far easier now in the age of the Internet), equipping the writer with sufficient knowledge to create a fictive reality with credible authority. In my new mystery, The MacGuffin, I needed a crash course in thermodynamics before I could concoct a believable plot regarding alternative energy and pepper it with the right buzzwords.

The idea is only the beginning, of course. The inspiration phase just seems to happen; the perspiration phase that follows involves considerably more effort and discipline. But it’s the initial idea—that “ah-hah!” moment—that jump-starts the process and gives writers the impetus to roll up their sleeves and get down to the work of storytelling.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Michael Craft is the author of a dozen prior novels and three stage plays. As a mystery writer he has been known for many years as the author of the popular “Mark Manning” series, set in the Midwest, as well as the “Claire Gray” series, set in California. Three of his novels have been honored as national finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. His latest mystery novel, The MacGuffin, features a new protagonist, architect Cooper Brant. In recent years, Michael Craft has broadened his creative focus to include playwriting and screenwriting. He lives in Rancho Mirage, California. 

You can visit his website at www.michaelcraft.com or connect with him at Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001138388778&sk=info.

A cold-case murder fifteen years ago halted promising developments in the quest for clean energy when the rumored prototype of a groundbreaking water engine was stolen or destroyed. Now the race is on to repower America, and Cooper Brant, still grieving that long-ago murder of his father, suddenly finds his family visited by a second violent death, raising the stakes to unearth lost secrets. When Coop discovers how the two crimes are linked, a grim message becomes clear. He’s next.

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Questover Press (July 17, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615499716
• ISBN-13: 978-0615499710

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