My ideas usually start with a concept, a topic, or a question. Sometimes it’s a character, a setting, or a scene that sparks up first, but that initial spark almost always comes from wanting to learn and explore. I want readers to learn something, or to think about something in a new way, or to consider alternate perspectives. The goal isn’t to define anything or share my own opinion. Rather, it’s to create an interest in the topic itself and let readers come to their own conclusions. Of course, the ensuing story is just as important, as is my desire to create exciting and entertaining premises, but that’s where the spark of the idea first comes from. And it’s how I got the idea for The Red Flag novel.
The Spark for The Red Flag Novel
It’s not exactly easy to pinpoint the spark that set off my idea for The Red Flag. But I can say that it had to do with villainy (one of my favorite topics). There were others too, but I would say it was wanting to explore villainy that spun my inspiration. While the novel serves to raise other questions about piracy and get readers thinking about the types of people that pirates were, it was that spark that first got me thinking about these questions. I go more in-depth about my inspiration for The Red Flag in a guest post on the blog, “Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots.”
An Excerpt From the Guest Post
What would a villain have to do to lose support from a sympathetic audience? We as humans have a love for the underdog, for the misunderstood hero. We look to the Golden Age of Piracy for adventure, romance, and treasure. We root for the small thieves, the soul-tortured swashbucklers, and cheer when they do the right thing or grow a heart. Pirates were just trying to live a better life, after all, and weren’t real villains. Or were they? When I started The Red Flag, I had one goal in mind: to give readers the truth. Pirates were some of the cruelest people who ever lived. And they enjoyed being cruel.
You can read the rest of the post at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots.