#WriteTip - 5 Places to Find Story Ideas by @MSKosciuszko, spotlighting her #Sweet #Romance ONCE AND FOREVER

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I'm delighted to welcome M.S. Kaye back to my blog today. We've checked out the first two books in her series, and she's back with number 3. Find out all about it after this brief writing tip break. 

5 Places to Find Story Ideas

by M.S. Kaye

The first question most people ask me when they find out I write is “How do you come up with your ideas?” I think part of the trick is just to be constantly tuned into that part of your brain. Where other people might think, “Wow, I need to Facebook that,” writers are thinking, “Ooh, that’s a great story idea!” Other than everyday life, here are some places where I find ideas and inspiration:

  1. History—Some crazy things have happened in our world throughout the ages. Why not use it? I either pick an event or circumstance and modify it to fit my purposes, or create a link to some major event in history.
  2. Mythology and Fairy Tales—Even crazier things happen in mythology, which makes it a ripe playing ground for writers. One of my YA novels is about teenagers who have been reincarnated as Sumerian Gods. The book recreates a mythological story in a modern way.
  3. Movies—No, I don’t mean steal ideas, but you can pull bits and pieces about the story or characters and then twist it around in your mind and come up with something completely different.
  4. Dreams—I know it sounds corny, but some of my favorite stories come to me from the flashes I see in my dreams. My first novel was a story I’d dreamed clearly. It took me years to realize it wasn’t going to go away and I needed to write it down. Now it’s one of my favorite stories.
  5. Literature—I love referencing famous works to hint at the theme or plot points to come. Or maybe take an O. Henry story and expand it in a modern way. Maybe find out what happened to Tom Sawyer when he grew up.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Once & Forever

Book 3

by M.S. Kaye

Who is the mysterious Santa who leaves toys on the convent steps?

After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. As Eden and Trace confess their pasts to each other and grow closer, will they be able to resist getting too close?

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Excerpt

“You know what he did to git sent to prison?” one of the convenience store clerks murmured to the other.

Trace could just hear them over the horrible rendition of “Jingle Bells” playin’ through the speakers. He ignored them, like he always did. He tried to come into town late in the evening to avoid people as much as possible, but that also meant it was quiet enough that he could often hear what people murmured about him. Once he’d grabbed some protein bars and a can of beer, he headed up to the counter to pay.

The clerk with a buzz-cut told him the total, and Trace handed him some cash.

Neither of the clerks made eye contact with him, but they both hovered over the cash register as if he might snatch it and run.

Buzz-cut closed the cash drawer right quick and handed Trace’s change back.

“Thank you.” Trace stuffed the change in his pocket, took the bag of protein bars in one hand and his beer in the other, and walked out of the store.

He headed for the back lot toward the alley. He could get through most of downtown by way of the alley. This late at night it was almost too dark to see where he was goin’, but that was part of what he liked about it.

“Bitch,” someone growled. And then the sound of something—or someone—smacking into the brick wall of the back of the convenience store.

Trace moved more quickly and turned the corner, and he caught sight of a skinny, young woman punching a man in the face. His head snapped back. But then another man slammed his fist across her jaw. She looked so frail that the punch seemed like shooting a cannon ball at a piece of notebook paper.

“Hey!” Trace roared and ran at them. “Git away from her.”

About M.S. Kaye

M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.

To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website.

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