Fly Away Little Birdie

It's funny how ideas occur to people at the oddest time. Some folks think of their best ideas in their dreams. Frankenstein was the result of a dream Mary Shelley had. Others have epiphanies in the car or on the train during their morning or evening commute.

As for me, I can honestly say that 80% of my best ideas--for writing, work, or anything else--come to me in the shower. Unfortunately, I can't shower 24/7--good thing, too, otherwise I'd be a wrinkled prune. Anyway, the point. Yes, there is a point to all this. The point is, that today in the shower, I had a great idea.

I've been working on the next book in the Deliverers series, and it's been going pretty well. However, I was concerned that the plot as I envisioned it was going to be too linear. There weren't any twists or turns. Now, part of the fun of writing is that the twists and turns often happen organically as I'm writing. The only problem with that is that I don't know if it will happen until it does. And I'm too much of a control freak for that.

Then today in the shower, it happened. A plot twist popped into my head. The great thing about it is, it isn't contrived, it's something that's very natural and believable. It will also help broaden the story, and make it better. I can't tell you what it is, but I will say that it involves something that happens to Stig.

If this works out the way I think it will, the story will be much more interesting. This is one of the fun things about being a writer. Every so often you get these little nuggets that fall from on high. For me, they're often accompanied by drops of water splashing on my head. I guess I need to keep a pen and paper next to the shower, writing on a steamy mirror doesn't work!