What Goes On Inside The Mind Of An Author?

I’ve always been in awe of authors who can churn out one novel after another, each one a captivating story filled with twists and turns, intertwined sub-plots, and a cast of characters that, for one reason or another, you simply can’t forget even after you’ve finished reading the book. Where do the ideas come from? Who are these characters that come to life in the book so much so that we’d swear they are real? And are the settings real places or created out of thin air by the author?

When I imagine peering into an author’s head, I picture it as if I’m looking down into a busy factory-like setting. The minds of well-known authors, who have written dozens of novels, would look something like getting a glimpse into one of those huge Amazon warehouses.  An endless network of neural conveyor belts transporting images and ideas to stations throughout. “Conferences” being held between the mind’s experience department and the cerebral creative department; each providing a perspective for an idea, a cast of characters, and a setting. Once the “whiteboard” is fully populated, members of the executive thinking branch come in. This is the group that is charged with approving and moving forward with the story by providing answers for all the “hows” and “whys” posed by the idea. It decides how the story develops, progresses, and culminates. It strategically situates the characters and then collaborates with members of the dialogue team, who decide, based on character personality and role, what, when, and how something is said. This entire scene would appear to the casual observer as total chaos. Yet, the process somehow continues to produce a stream of accomplished literary works.

Is there a magical formula that results in someone becoming an author? Unique DNA perhaps? I can’t speak for others, but for me, the key element that triggered me to write was listening to my inner dialogue. You know, that voice in your head that has a conversation when your lips aren’t moving. It’s cynical, sarcastic, funny, informative, insightful, persuasive, dissuasive, aggressive, and so much more. When the inner voice joins forces with the creative network in our brains, that is when an idea emerges. In my case, there are two words that act as the genesis of every thought and every storyline that follows: What if. 

“What if” provides the literary license for novelists to tap into their fantasies and aspirations, and take them to endless destinations. My first novel, InSight, was based on a thought I had (yes, that inner voice) about what if I could go back in time, not to alter anything, but to simply observe and know the truth about an event surrounded by unknowns, and then returning to present day with that knowledge. Okay, fine, I had the idea. Now what? Slowly the factory within my head was materializing. What would I want to go back and see? What happens as a result? How does it all end? Throw in a few good guys, a few bad, and maybe a surprise here and there. The thoughts came to me in a flurry, so I quickly wrote them down. Slowly the story came into focus. Now it was time to “build” some characters and a setting in which it all takes place. Before I knew it, I had a draft. It was ugly, a bit disjointed, and in need of some trained eyes to get it to a finished product. And just as soon as it becomes published and out the door, the wheels slowly turned to grind away at the next idea. And for me, it always begins the same way: What if?