David Bell's Blog - Posts Tagged "thrillers"
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW: Behind the Scenes Part I
Whenever I give a reading or a talk, I inevitably get asked the question all writers get asked: Where do you get the ideas for your novels? Now, I could be a smartass about the whole thing and answer, “I subscribe to an idea service!” or “From the Idea Tree in my back yard!” But since I’m never sarcastic (that’s sarcasm) I thought I’d share some of the ways the story came together from the initial impulse to the revising and editing process.
So…where do I get those ideas?
The short answer is: Anywhere and everywhere. I’ve gotten ideas from stories on the news or even things I overhear in restaurants. Sometimes I just make everything up right out of my head. But I’ve also been known to “borrow” ideas from the lives of my friends. Let’s face it, if you’re friends with a writer and you tell that writer something really interesting, it’s pretty likely to end up in a book or story at some point. Maybe not exactly as it happened to you, but it will be there in some form. That’s what got me started down the road to writing SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW…
You see I have this friend named Carl Janssen. Carl has had a good life. Good job, happy marriage, good kids. The worst thing that ever happened to Carl is something he can’t remember. When Carl was two years old, his father, Paul, died of cancer. Basically, Carl has no memories of his father, not a single one.
Even though Carl was raised by his mother and a loving stepfather, there can be no doubt who his biological father really is. I’ve seen the pictures. If you look at Carl’s high school graduation photo and then a photo of Carl’s father at the same age…it’s eerie. They’re identical. Hair color, eyebrows, face shape, lips. Identical.
But don’t take my word for it. Once when Carl was about twenty, he and his then girlfriend went shopping in a grocery store. A man Carl had never seen before—a man about the same age Carl’s father would be if he had lived—approached and said, “You have to be Paul Janssen’s son.” The man had never met Carl, but was once very good friends with his father and remembered him well. He picked Carl out from across the store and saw a resemblance that stretched across the years.
Carl isn’t an emotional guy. He’s not a particularly open guy. In all the years I’ve known him, and I’ve known him a long time, Carl has never really talked about his father or his father’s death. I always figured that since it happened when he was so young and since he never talked about it, he didn’t have strong emotions about the loss. I’m sure he thought about it, but I didn’t ever think the wound was raw.
But that’s a foolish thought. That day, Carl walked out of the grocery store and broke down crying in the parking lot. It was the first time he’d ever cried for his father, and it happened because someone—a complete stranger—saw that resemblance and commented on it.
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW begins with a similar encounter in a grocery store. Not exactly what happened to Carl, but when you read the book you’ll be able to see how that incident inspired the opening scene. Things that emotional and dramatic happen to all of us at one time or another. And how powerful would it be to see a face from your past, one you thought you’d never see again?
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW is available for pre-order here: http://tinyurl.com/l7fg928
So…where do I get those ideas?
The short answer is: Anywhere and everywhere. I’ve gotten ideas from stories on the news or even things I overhear in restaurants. Sometimes I just make everything up right out of my head. But I’ve also been known to “borrow” ideas from the lives of my friends. Let’s face it, if you’re friends with a writer and you tell that writer something really interesting, it’s pretty likely to end up in a book or story at some point. Maybe not exactly as it happened to you, but it will be there in some form. That’s what got me started down the road to writing SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW…
You see I have this friend named Carl Janssen. Carl has had a good life. Good job, happy marriage, good kids. The worst thing that ever happened to Carl is something he can’t remember. When Carl was two years old, his father, Paul, died of cancer. Basically, Carl has no memories of his father, not a single one.
Even though Carl was raised by his mother and a loving stepfather, there can be no doubt who his biological father really is. I’ve seen the pictures. If you look at Carl’s high school graduation photo and then a photo of Carl’s father at the same age…it’s eerie. They’re identical. Hair color, eyebrows, face shape, lips. Identical.
But don’t take my word for it. Once when Carl was about twenty, he and his then girlfriend went shopping in a grocery store. A man Carl had never seen before—a man about the same age Carl’s father would be if he had lived—approached and said, “You have to be Paul Janssen’s son.” The man had never met Carl, but was once very good friends with his father and remembered him well. He picked Carl out from across the store and saw a resemblance that stretched across the years.
Carl isn’t an emotional guy. He’s not a particularly open guy. In all the years I’ve known him, and I’ve known him a long time, Carl has never really talked about his father or his father’s death. I always figured that since it happened when he was so young and since he never talked about it, he didn’t have strong emotions about the loss. I’m sure he thought about it, but I didn’t ever think the wound was raw.
But that’s a foolish thought. That day, Carl walked out of the grocery store and broke down crying in the parking lot. It was the first time he’d ever cried for his father, and it happened because someone—a complete stranger—saw that resemblance and commented on it.
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW begins with a similar encounter in a grocery store. Not exactly what happened to Carl, but when you read the book you’ll be able to see how that incident inspired the opening scene. Things that emotional and dramatic happen to all of us at one time or another. And how powerful would it be to see a face from your past, one you thought you’d never see again?
SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW is available for pre-order here: http://tinyurl.com/l7fg928
