Goodreads asked Marjorie Reynolds:

How do you get inspired to write?

Marjorie Reynolds For me, it's a brick-by-brick process, similar to building a house. A good example is my in-progress novel, Ideal Beach. When I was four years old, my father serviced mechanical equipment and jukeboxes at the Ideal Beach resort near Monticello, Indiana (it still exists but has been renamed Indiana Beach). I don't have memories of that time but I do have photos. My brother and I could ride the merry-go-round as long and as often as we wanted. I began with the setting, a treasure trove of nostalgia, and came up with the idea of having a young black woman's car break down in an all-white town. I didn't feel comfortable writing from the point of view of the black woman, so I chose a white woman resident as the narrator. As I wrote, I realized the story is as much about her as it is about the stranded visitor and her son. I knew Indiana was a breeding ground for the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s so of course I would include the klan as one of the antagonists. I go over my plot, making sure I have the basics of a good novel: conflict, theme, premise, suspense, motivation, emotion and other important elements. Along the way, I leave room for what I call the process of discovery, that great idea that fits perfectly into the story. Now I have my foundation and I add details one brick at a time until the structure is complete. Creating the plot is my favorite part of the process.

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