People ask me all the time where I get ideas for my books and stories (particularly those who have read some of my more twisted works and who, while asking me, appear to be edging toward the emergency exits in case I decide to act out a choice scene).

The truth is, inspiration comes in many forms for me, but it almost always starts with the same question: What if?

For example: What if someone who was already mentally unstable were subjected to social ostracism and isolation? What if you found out that someone whom you thought you knew and loved turned out to be a complete stranger to you? What if prayer really worked? What if we had the power to truly change ourselves?

I don’t always immediately recognize the question as the nucleus of a story; more often than not, the question lodges itself in my mind and nags at me, always there,  irritating the lining of my brain like a grain of sand in an oyster. Sometimes, the journey from grain to pearl, from inspiration to completion, takes years (my first novella took five); sometimes, it feels as though the pearl was born complete and lovely and whole right from the start, delivering an entire plot from beginning to end to my mental doorstep. I love it when that happens.

I am inspired to write today, however, not by a question (the “What if?” moment for the new book I’m working on occurred two months ago), but by a lovely French song, “Le Festin” by Camille (featured in the Disney movie Ratatouille.) The lyrics are in French, but loosely translated, are all about not hiding your light from the world and the conviction that your life is a feast, just waiting for you to tuck in: “Let me astonish you, and take flight.”

That song does it for me every single time. Every time that I feel discouraged or uninspired or frustrated about my writing, about what to do with it next, all I have to do is listen to that song and I find myself renewed, restored, and ready to write again. My “What if?” questions today are more about process than plot: What if today, I find my voice? What if today, I weave the loose ends together just right? What if today, I bring to full and vivid life the character who’s been whispering in my ear nonstop for the last two months? What if today is the day?