There is a Method to my Madness...I Promise

A couple weeks ago, fellow bloganista Patty Blount wrote a post about how she came up with her novel SEND (I've read it, so trust me when I tell you that it's FIERCE).  Click here to read about how SEND was hatched.  And, of course, this got me to thinking about how my stories find their way onto my computer.  So, friends, you can blame this look into my oft-times twisted mind on Miss Patty.  I'm just saying.

For the purposes of this experiment, we will us the manuscript I wrote about this time last year.  Some of you fine folks may remember A SLIVER OF HOPE from my Teaser Tuesday posts of old, but if not or if you are new to this little corner of Hell, allow me to elaborate. 

A SLIVER OF HOPE (in a kind of lame nutshell):  Hannah and Hope Morton are twin sisters who share a unique bond, one that cannot be broken by miles, time, or even death.  Together, they are invincible, trading secrets, hopes and dreams.  But, when Hope takes her own life, Hannah loses a best friend and a sister, a catastrophe Hannah isn't sure she will survive herself.

So, how did this idea come about?  Well, it's not as easy and straightforward as it may seem.  Confused yet?  I'll break it down for you.

Step One: The Wonder that is Television
Karla/Karlie/LastWord0524 has a fondness for the Discovery Channel.  Betcha didn't know that, huh?  Well, it's more of an addiction, really.  When I flip on the TV, it's the first station I turn to.  Discovery Health was always my favorite...at least before they changed it to Discovery Fit & Health.  (I blame Oprah for this...and well, that's another blog post entirely.)

So, anyways, here I was, cleaning on an unassuming Saturday morning when for some reason I decided I needed some background noise.  Normally, the TV and stereo are turned off while I clean, because they can easily distract me from my ultimate goal of a clean house, but that day was different, and I turned on Discovery Health.  Shocker of all shockers, I quickly became engrossed in an episode of Mystery Diagnosis that involved a teen who slept a lot...like A LOT.  This episode was followed up by a baby born with some weird and very rare genetic disorder and then the man who's blood turned to sludge.  Suffice it to say, I did not get all my cleaning done on Saturday. 

But, it was what came on AFTER the marathon that stayed with me.  It was a documentary about a set of twins who had been in a serious car accident.  One walked away with only mild scrapes and bruises while the other lay trapped in a coma.  The one in the coma began to deteriorate for no apparent reason at the same time that the live one got sick.  A lot happens in between, but for the sake of efficiency, I will cut to the point.  The doctors began treating the coma patient for the live one's ailment and both got better...like they were somehow connected...psychically.  I know.

Step Two: A Short Trip to the Grocery Store and I come home with Twins
After the Discovery Health marathon, it was time for dinner, and I still hadn't gone grocery shopping.  So, I hopped in the car, and away I went.  My iPod is basically welded to my car stereo, and of course, the playlist that gets the most air time is my SEETHER list.  If you didn't check out my RTW post from last week(and you want to learn about the AWESOME-SAUCINESS that is Seether) click here.  The song, Fake It from their Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces album came on, and this line reached out and smacked me upside the head.

"Who's to know if your soul will fade at all--the one you sold to fool the world"

And a pair of twins were born...one who loves her sister more than anything, who wants to be just like her twin, because she is perfect...and the other, the "perfect" one who is really not so perfect and just can't take it any more.  She doesn't want to Fake It anymore.

Step Three: A Star is Born...and then Twitter killed it
At this time, I was more of a Twitter lurker than a Twitterati.  Yes, I had an account, and yes, I talked, but mostly, I used Twitter as a way to cyber-stalk agents and editors I had on my list.  (I feel like I should be laughing sinisterly here or grinning maniacally or something, but I digress)

So, I came home from the grocery store, put away my purchases, took care of the puppies, and then I sat myself down at the computer with the intention of jotting down a few notes about my twins.  And then, Twitter happened. It distracted me with its shininess, and the twins wandered away from me.  I was angry.  I was heart-broken.  I was devastated.  I pounded on the desk, shook my fists, and cried angrily up to the writing gods, "Why did you invent something like TWITTER to distract me like that! It killed my idea!  Oh, the tragedy.  The senselessness of it all!"

Okay.  So maybe I wasn't as melodramatic as all that, but you get the point.

Despondent over my enormous loss, I slunk off to bed...and I dreamed. I dreamed of golden haired twins, one alive, one...er...not so alive.  But, the one left standing wasn't really alive either.  She was nothing more than a shell of her former self.  She'd lost her smart, beautiful, fun-loving twin, and she didn't know why.  But, what's worse was that her sister had a secret life...one that the live twin was not privy to.  And, now she was angry and she was hurt...

And, I woke up, itching to know just what had happened.  How the sister died, and what kind of secret life she led.  Hello, new story, and welcome back twins.  I'm so glad Twitter didn't really kill you:)

The End...

What about you fine folks?  Is this about how you find your inspiration, or is it a little less convoluted than that?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments.  I'll just be over there, cyber-stalking peeps on the Twitter :)