The Wiggle of an Idea (Patricia Potter)

Two days ago I had no plot for a contracted romantic suspense novel and, yegods, it’s due in six months.

I’ve been completely absorbed by the book I just finished, probably the most complex one in recent years. Talk about painting oneself into corners. One after another.

Don’t want to do that again. Simplicity. That’s the word I want for the next one.

Well, desperation kicked in, and a news article I read years ago resurfaced in my head. Two young women discovered they were living with the wrong parents. They had been switched at birth, not on purpose but apparently by carelessness in the hospital. One was from a wealthy family, the other by a struggling blue collar family. They were eighteen when the mistake was discovered..

Bells went off then, but I had other books in line.

Now that old bell ringer article rescued me.

From that one very short news story years ago, ideas started wriggling around in my head, and ten hours later the I had the beginnings of a plot. Who are the two women? What is their relationship with their families? With each other? And the suspense? Well, you’ll have to wait to find out about that, but I can’t wait to get started.

The evolution of a plot is a strange and mysterious thing. I’m going to a high school reunion tomorrow and will be driving four hours to, and four hours back. Lovely hours to fill out the details. Will the hero be the attorney who is suspiciously too good to be true? Or the detective investigating a murder? Will both the daughters live, or will one die? And was the hospital error really an error? Or something more sinister?

I don’t know any of the answers yet. I’ll develop some on the trip, others when I sit down at the computer and start writing the synopsis. It’s amazing how a plot then falls into place.

And already something is telling me the plot is not going to be . . . simple. Here comes more corners.

But I do I love plots that come from the newspaper or history pages. No fiction can ever surpass reality, not in historicals, not in relationships and not in suspense.

How do my fellow Broads – and other authors who visit us – go about building their plots? Where do you get your ideas?

And now I’m off to my high school reunion. First one I’ve ever attended and not too sure it’s a wise thing. I wasn’t the happiest when in high school. But a writer’s curiosity won out. Will report back next week.