Rarely does the original inspiration for a story remain static as a book is written. More often, the first idea for a story evolves into something slightly different. A few examples:

- After having a son very late in life, Cormac McCarthy wanted to write a book about a boy who would have to grow up without his father. That idea transformed into The Road, the tale of a father and son who survived the apocalypse.

- Ray Bradbury was horrified by the idea of people becoming mindless zombies in front of TV sets. The thought morphed into Fahrenheit 451, a world of book burnings.

- Aldus Huxley was frightened by the mass consumerism and group mentality that was emerging in his time. That fear evolved into Brave New World, about an entire society that was drugged into a mindless existence.

- And my own example, that mankind’s end would be more interesting if the final people had to care for the afflicted masses rather than fight them or each other. That was the original inspiration for The Man Who Watched The World End, the story of a man reflecting on the life he could have had if mankind hadn’t faded away.

If you’re planning on starting your own book, don’t force yourself to write about any one specific idea. Instead, just sit back and write and embrace whatever story emerges. Some of the most powerful and impactful stories have taken that approach and it has worked out well for them. After all, no matter how good your original idea might seem, when you let it morph into something else, your true interests and passions sneak out onto the page and your writing sounds more honest.