Thursday, November 11, 2010

Spend The Morning In My Brain


Did you ever wonder where an author gets her ideas from? I've been asked that before, and my standard response is, "From my brain."

(Well, think about it. Where do your ideas come from?)

But a writer's brain is wired really strangely. Take an Idea I batted to Dusty last night as we got ready for bed:

"What do you think of a character that's a Tabula Rasa?"

Since he's been with me for twenty years and is used to me going off on random tangents, he picked it up pretty quickly. He did, however, ask me how I got the idea.

You'd think after twenty years he'd know better.

"So. I was reading this story about a boy who can't speak because he's been so abused by his dad. While I was reading it I was also chatting with Bob (Robert C. Roman, writes some of the best steam-punk short stories I've ever read) and he told me about this superhero story he's got going where one of the characters gets super strong at certain times, but during those times she also becomes a six year old on a sugar rush. Have I mentioned she's a doctor? Then I remembered Bob has Latin for his tag line, and I remember thinking, who speaks Latin these days? So I went to his website to double-check, and sure enough it was still there. His graphic isn't done yet so his website is still under construction, and it's kind of a blank slate at the moment, all grays and blacks.

"Lightbulb. Someone who's been abused. Someone with unique powers. Someone who has no memory of who or what they're supposed to be. Latin. Tabula Rasa, the only bit of Latin I actually know. It means blank slate." I then attempted to bounce like a six year old on a sugar rush, which isn't nearly as cute on a woman with back issues.

One of the reasons I love Dusty is not only did he follow that rush of nonsense, but he had some really cool ideas to add to it. He'll probably give me some more ideas before I sit down and outline it. He'll help me define the powers of the character and, as my Power Police,will make sure I don't give him too much or too little. I even know which series the TR will go into, thanks to him.

Thank you, sweetheart.You're the only person I know of who isn't terrified of my brain (or Bob's, for that matter).

1 comment:

Robert C Roman said...

Dusty's not terrified of my brain any more? I must be slipping :-)

Favorite Quotes

"I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability." Ron White

"So let me get this straight. You want me to kill the little guys, kill the big guys, crowd control those I can't, buff the team, debuff the boss, keep myself alive, AND keep you alive, all while waving a stick and dressed in a towel?" - Anonymous Role Playing Gamer

"I think that statue over there is a statement on modern life. The statement is, "Well, shit." - Varric, Dragon Age II

"Why is it all claws and guns? Can't we piss off a fuzzy planet? Still dangerous, but hey. Bunnies." - Joker, Mass Effect

"Last night, I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?" - Dilbert


"Aim at the high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second time and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect. Finally you'll hit the bull's-eye of success." - Annie Oakley

"It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." - Flemeth, aka The Witch of the Wilds, Dragon Age 2

"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.'” - George Carlin

"I hear there's a wild bridge tournament down the street. And you know Bridge. It's a lot like sex. If you don't have a great partner, you'd better have a good hand." Barry Weiss, Storage Wars

"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe." - Marcus Cole, Babylon 5, "A Late Delivery From Avalon"

"I aim to misbehave." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

“If you think you can or think you cannot, you are correct.” - Henry Ford
Powered By Blogger