I have no idea how the brain works, but in a novel-writing brain (er, mine at least) it works from convergence. Or at least that’s my theory this morning.

In the excellent on line magazine, Black Gate, I read an interview with Jeffrey E. Barlough, author of the Western Lights series. He described how his latest book in the series came from combining three different writing projects he was working on. He also said that his rich alternate history world came from the intersection of 1) his interest in paleontology; 2) a love of Victorian fiction; and 3) his time as a volunteer excavator and the La Brea Tar Pits.

I often cook up story ideas that way, too. Read More…