For me, one of the most exciting things about being a writer is the seemingly magical way in which ideas bubble up. I can still remember how the idea for my first novel came about.
When I was in my late 30’s, I read two books that especially inspired me: Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, a vivid retelling of the Arthurian legend from the point of view of the priestess Morgaine and the other women. The other book, written by medium Jane Roberts, was The Education of Oversoul Seven, a metaphysical tale of the interconnectedness of souls and the many lives we live. Both stories made a deep impression on me, and I finally realized what I wanted to write about: the mysterious, the supernatural, and the unseen. I also knew that I wanted my first novel to take place in an ancient setting. And then one day, without any conscious effort on my part, a group of characters sprang up fully formed in my mind; they had distinct names, personalities and faces, and I knew their story would take place in ancient times, but not exactly where. That was the beginning of Between the Sun and the Moon, a project that became my passion for the next six years. I still feel amazed at the incredible way in which it started.
Echoes of the Moon, my second novel, also had an uncanny start. I had gone into the hospital for minor surgery—a brief procedure, but one that required general anesthesia. A few days after the surgery, as I was recuperating at home, I was awakened early in the morning by an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d had some ideas about the next novel I wanted to write, but I suddenly knew, very powerfully, exactly what I wanted to do. And my mind wouldn’t rest until I got out of bed and began putting my ideas into writing. Later I joked to some friends that having anesthesia must have shaken something loose in my subconscious! And then I remembered: just before the surgeon had put me to sleep, he had started a conversation with me about my writing, asking what kind of writing I did and what my novel was about. This was the last thing in my mind before I drifted off, and I realized later that this probably did help advance that wonderful subconscious process that seems to underlie my writing.
After having these experiences, and hearing about how ideas evolve for other creative people, I’ve come to believe that a person’s creativity draws from myriad sources, not all of them conscious. Input taken in at all levels of mind—things we experience, sense, see, hear, read, imagine—all swirl into a great melting-pot of creativity. And from a continuous, subconscious process of creation, ideas and inspiration bubble up. To me, that’s a wondrous thing. And it’s one of the reasons I feel so fortunate to be a writer.
