Ever wonder where I (or any writer for that matter) get my fiction ideas from? I’d say it is a combination of things. First life experience comes into play. The combined collection of memories accumulated from my day-to-day events. Both good and bad.

I have pain. We all do. That’s what makes us human. I take my pain and use it in my stories to give humanity to my characters. Look at Tullus or Celestra from my Leopard King Saga series. Or Liberty Rise from Mindcop Dossiers.  I’d be selling them short by making them omnipotent. Who wants to read about characters like that?

It’s cliche, but troubled characters work best when drawn-upon from personal experience. That doesn’t mean you put yourself in the story. In that case you’re better off writing non-fiction (Which I read a lot, by the way.)

Fiction is a compass that points towards life. No matter how make-believe a story is, or if its genre is pure fantasy. People read to learn more about human nature and find meaning in their lives and the world around them.

What do you think?