Using What Ifs to Generate Story Ideas

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] I have (over the past two years) written a few posts about the idea of using the phrase “What if” as an idea generator for developing a plot. “What if” novels are often about large historical events, like Kennedy’s assassination, the D-Day invasion, or the …

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What If…? (Rush Hour Traffic)

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] Disclaimer, regarding the post below: No, I wasn’t texting and posting while driving. I wrote this in the present tense after the fact. It’s about 3:30 pm, and I’m on I-45, the freeway in Houston that runs north and south through downtown. South of downtown …

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What If…?

Picture of Michael at a NaNoWriMo event

[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] The most common question writers get asked is “where do you get all your ideas?” Every writer has a different answer, but many times what happens is the author read or heard or saw something that sparked an idea, and that usually followed by them …

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