I’ve been asked a few times since starting my first book, “Where did you get your idea from?” I wish there were some simple answer, like “I had this amazing epiphany one day!” or “I went out to the idea tree and picked one.” I can confirm we do not have an idea tree, though I’m considering planting one in a few months. I hear they’re a spring/summer plant.
The answer on that particular idea is that I’ve always been fascinated by questions of “What would happen if …?” And, seeing as it’s basically a stated goal of modern medicine to cure every disease and keep people alive for as long as possible, this is a great “What if?” That would be to say, “What if we actually reached a goal we have?” It’s compelling to me because it’s a goal we have as a society, but I think it might cause a lot more problems if we achieved it. And my story is just about one problem I came up with. I thought of plenty more — from massive overcrowding in cities to healthcare distribution to resource depletion to restrictive family planning to all sorts of other issues — and I talk about some of them in the book because they have an impact on the story, but this was the one I thought translated the best as the main focus of a novel. Of course, it’s quite possible I’m wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time. [Read more…] about Where do Ideas Come From?
