I always find it interesting that when I seem to have a dilemma  when it comes to my writing, the Universe pops up in my inbox with something insightful. Let me back up a bit. I recently read a blog from a best-selling author. Someone had asked about the types of main characters this writer seems to default to. Granted, there are similarities but the main characters–and the world, even when there’s a slight confluence of the worlds–are different. Same type but not interchangeable. The author talked a bit about brainstorming when it comes to characters and world-building. They didn’t mention plot, though I get the impression the individual books, as well as the series arc, is all as meticously plotted as the rest. I suspent they are plotters. Me? For the longest time, I was a pantser because my brain started at the beginning, had a decent idea of the end and decided it was fun to navigate twists, turns, detours, up, downs, and all arounds. It was fun for me to make those discovers, as I hoped it would also be fun for my readers. That said, now I’m a puzzler. But I degress in this story. After reading the blog post, I  headed to the kitchen for a coffee refill and I wondered when I’d last brainstormed with someone else. I used to have a critique partner. We’d meet for coffee and brainstorm through promblems we encountered in our WIPs. It’s been several years and I suddenly realised that I missed it–the brainstorming through problems. And then this popped up in my inbox.

Got any good ideas for this week, Silver?

I’m thinking that anything can happen.

But, then, of course, it’s not about what I think.

You’re up,
The Universe
©www.tut.com

P.S. I so love your continuum, Silver. It’s so responsive, versatile, and dependable. Like your cooking.

Okay, that last bit made me laugh because I also haven’t done much serious cooking in quite awhile. The Big U is correct. Anything can happen when you have ideas. They don’t even have to be good ones. With the right brainstorming, even a “bad” idea can turn into something delightful. True story. When I was writing THAT OL’ BLACK MAGIC, what seemed like a bad idea at the time turned into a beloved character. Keep in mind that SEASON OF THE WITCH was actually written first. After a trip to New Orleans, I knew I wanted Sade’s story to start there. I’d pretty much done all the world-building in SOTW. There were vampires. There were werewolves. There were fae. So, I’m brainstorming TOBM and trying to come up with victims and who was the perp. “What’s the stupidest thing you could add?” my CP asked over coffee. I laughed and said the first thing that popped into my head. “Let there be dragons.” We both laughed and moved on to her project. I tried to convince myself that I didn’t want to rework the worldbuilding. I didn’t want to research “real” dragons. I mean, dragons are cool and I was a major Anne McCaffery Dragonriders of Pern fan, but dragon shifters? Really!?!? So I poked around on line a bit and one day, a character walked in, full of arrogance, and introduced himself. “I am the Drakon of Clan Kholikikos. My name is Nikolas Constantine but you may call me Nikos.” He snapped his fingers at me. “There. Now get to work.” So I did. How many of you love Nikos? 🙋🏼‍♀️ Including him was a very bad idea and meant skewing a whole bunch of stuff but at the same time, he created some conflict for Sade, added some cocky fun, and I’m not sorry I took the time to get his part of the story put into the right spots of the continuum. I just need to remember to faith in myself. I can be responsive, versatile, and dependable. Iffy? I’m not so sure about her but what the heck. I have ideas. Now to write about them, fleshing them out as I add them to the story.