When I Create Novels...

Every once in a while I'll come across pages in the back of a book that's sort of a Question & Answer for the author. Sometimes I see the question, "How did you think of the idea for this book?" and they'll answer, "It took a lot of thinking, walks, showers, and food eating." Or people might say that they just sit there and think and think and try to come up with ideas. They brainstorm for a while and put together a few ideas and then WALA! They have a perfect idea for a story that becomes a bestseller. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little, but still... I've always wondered how authors could do that. I create my story ideas subconsciously. I don't really try to think of them, I just do. I recently wrote a book called My Sister Abigail. It's the longest book that I've ever actually finished. It currently has 565 pages and I'm still editing it. To think of the main idea, I didn't sit there in front of a blank word document, waiting for an idea to come to me- I was in the car, close to home, looking out the window. Then I had it- a story of two sisters, one of which becomes a vampire and then continues on as they try to conquer many conflicts. I even thought of the name of the story when I thought of the idea. So right when we got home, I got out of the car, grabbed a computer, and began typing. But that's only one book. In the past year, I've thought of 8 more story ideas. Most stories have at least one page, and I know that's not a lot compared to 565, but it's something. And for all other 8 ideas, I never sat there and tried to think of something- the ideas came to me.  The Rebels, for example, is based off of a dream I had. Then it formed into a longer story from there. It currently has 8 pages. Time for Me to Fly was also based off of a dream. The Ranch is a story I thought of when I wanted to write about horses and thought of the idea while playing a video game one day. I accidentally added some romance, but what's a good book without some of that? I thought of these 9 ideas, original or not, without trying to, and then just have to write them down. I can't just sit there and brainstorm for hours and hours. I've tried, and then longest I can go is 5 minutes. And even if I think of something, it'll be lousy. I admire these authors that can just sit there and think of amazing novel ideas. And I think that was my point here, even though I've only said a few sentences about it. Those writers are truly grand since they can just sit there and think of what to write. It probably isn't completely random and is probably influenced by other feelings and experiences, but I think they should still get some credit. Because I know that is something I cannot do.