I take
long showers, guys. My family gives me grief for it, but I myself am at peace,
for one very important reason.
A high, high percentage of my
story-related epiphanies come to me while I’m in the shower. Or brushing my
hair, or riding in the car, or anything routine where my mind can flutter where
it wants…which is usually straight to my WIP.
Still,
sometimes just ‘waiting’ for ideas to land isn’t enough. So I’m going to share
something only slightly embarrassing that I do. Often. Repeatedly.
I interview
myself.
Under
the premise that my current WIP has been published. Or optioned for the film
rights. Or in some other way has been successful.
I
pretend I’m talking to a reporter/blogger, or taking questions at a book
signing, or (perhaps most embarrassingly) telling the cast of the WIP movie exactly what they need to know about
each character so they can play them the way I’d always imagined.
… I
swear this isn’t just to boost my ego, guys.
It
makes me think about my story.
It
makes me ask questions—ones that would potentially be asked by people who are
not me.
“Why
did you write [THIS] the way you did, instead of this way?”
“What
purpose does [CHARACTER] serve in the story?”
“What
makes [SO-AND-SO] a good couple?”
“What
is your secret ship? If your MC wasn’t with [CHARACTER], who might they have
ended up with?”
Asking
myself things about the story, and characters, and all the different
connections taking place under the surface… It makes me search for answers.
Answers deeper than “Because I needed
it to be this way.” or “Because it was the first thing I thought of.”
It gets me into character’s
mindsets. It makes me think about what makes my characters who they are. And
why they do things, and how we got to this point, and all the MOTIVATIONS that I love so much.
And okay. It might also be for my
ego. A little.
But I’ll share my thoughts on that
in the next post.
Am I the only one who does this? (Please say no) What would you ask yourself in an
interview? Where do your best ideas come from?
Also, guys, I’m sure interviewing
yourself could work just as well OUT of the shower—perhaps even better because
then you can write down everything instead of trying to remember it by the time
you get out. Just sayin’ what works for me. ;D
