Eureka!

 by Charlotte Bennardo

Eureka!  That's supposedly what the mathematician Archimedes shouted when he discovered how to calculate the mass of gold used in the king's crown (water was displaced in a bathtub as he got in and he applied it to the gold crown). Don't know if the story or the math are true (hey, English person here), but when a writer gets an epiphany, we feel like shouting. And sometimes we do. 

I'm not a person that thinks, 'I'd like to write a coming-of-age book', or a 'character-driven contemporary novel'. I don't ponder issues and dilemmas or even characters. Usually my ideas come with an epiphany, like a slap across the back of my head. Some examples: 

My youngest son was playing in the sandbox while his brothers were at school. We had a resident squirrel in the big backyard tree that I would put out bananas, nuts, and other fruits for. This squirrel was a character, brave enough to come relatively close while kiddo and I were out there. Collin's brother Alec, in third grade, came home, whining about homework. The paper he showed me had to deal with simple machines: lever, wedge, wheel, etc. I promised to help him. Several days later, I was checking on my squirrel, thinking about Alec's assignment. I thought it would be so cool if the squirrel learned 'simple' machines.  WHAM! BOOK IDEA! - my Evolution Revolution trilogy.

Photo by Ludovic Delot: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-a-squirrel-eating-a-peanut-15092513/

There is a renaissance fair in Tuxedo Junction, NY, every fall. While perusing the stalls of various crafts people, I stopped at the blacksmith's. It was fascinating to watch him hammer orange-hot metal into a knife. Random thoughts run unfettered in my brain constantly, and I thought about how blacksmithing looks the same as I'd imagine it hundreds of years ago. A man in a knight's costume, with a long sword, walked by. Reminded me of the King Arthur tales. WHAM! What about a blacksmith who ruins the greatest sword ever made, Excalibur! Its magic would create a repercussion. BOOK IDEA! - my thesis novel, The Excalibur Vow.

Photo by Rene Asmussen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-a-hammer-in-front-of-anvil-334032/

These are just two examples how random thoughts that flow through and I don't pay much attention to suddenly link up with a partner and suddenly I have a new book idea. I never need books on how to find inspiration and I can't deal with some authors' complex systems of writing down ideas and scenarios until I find one that works. 

Now, I don't use all my epiphanies (would that I could live that long!), so I make notes and keep them in an idea file. Sometimes I revisit those ideas and use them in short stories, or as novel starters. I firmly believe that when you have an epiphany, you shouldn't ignore it- it's a gift from your muse and she doesn't always answer your calls. 

Until next month-

Char

Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ with her family and her floofy cat. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out.