For me sometimes it’s in the shower, or the middle of the night, but most often it’s when you least expect it. An object can give you an idea it can just happen.Daniel Neuman, who wrote an article on ideas, called it “Spontaneous Combustion.” Here’s a link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-newman/from-idea-to-ipo-where-do_b_3096126.html

Sometimes an object can stimulate an idea. Here I am sitting in my brother’s 1937 Oldsmobile. Thinking back on the history when this car was new is humbling. We were on the brink of World War 2.

Ideas for a novel can be right in front of you. This car might make 1937 seem rather romantic and filled with drama. Maybe the man who bought this car wound up on a beach in Normandy, or drove his wife to the hospital with their first child. A son takes it out on his first date. Or the auto restorer discovers something hidden in a secret compartment.

It’s an object that generates ideas. Just like Daniel Neuman called it: Spontaneous Combustion. What are we waiting for? Let’s get writing.

My name is Wally Runnels and I write Border Pulp.