Inspiration

People often ask me where I get my inspiration, and oddly enough, this is actually a hard question for me. "Daydreaming" is such a weird answer - even if it's true. I find most of my stories by playing through a scene in my head. Sometimes it works, and I spend hours elaborating; sometimes it dies within minutes. Often I come back to it several times, and then suddenly I realize that there might be a story here.

Another way is reading the science pages in the newspaper. Again, it sounds strange, but "what if"s are a great starting point for me. It worked really well with Himiko, and I've just begun another story that was born the same way.

Then there are the mails from readers asking for more stories about one character or another. Funnily enough, my first reaction is often saying no. Even as I'm composing my answer ("No, I can't write a story about Jeff, because that would just be him sitting at home Saturday Night"), I sometimes begin thinking. And yes, Jeff got his story and you can read it here on my website. I might have another one for him as well.

Right now I'm thinking about something for Torquere's charity, though. The theme is leather, and my mind is pretty empty. Except for the suggestion I got in that mail yesterday - or maybe Jeff could finally...

So many men, so little time to write them!