Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well. 

Today’s guest for the WHAT is Rachel Harrison, author of The Return.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I vaguely remember coming up with the concept. I write really early in the morning so a lot of what I come up with is in a pre-caffeinated haze. I love to write about relationships, especially friendships. My relationships with my friends are very important to me, I love my friends, but our dynamics can be complicated sometimes. I wanted to explore that in my writing. More specifically, The Return is about what happens when your friends change, and the fear of losing them. I think the origin of this book was really a mix of personal experience and a vision for a more feminine, kitschy version of The Overlook hotel from The Shining. 

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

I created a detailed outline for The Return. I went to college for screenwriting, and sometimes my screenwriting background is a disadvantage when writing prose, other times it’s an advantage. When it came to plotting out The Return, it was definitely an advantage, because I felt I was able to have a clear vision of the arc of the story, what beats it should hit. Doesn’t always work that way! I got lucky with this book. 

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

100%! I’m a teensy bit of control freak, so it was a hard lesson for me to learn, but I think as a writer you need to follow your gut and allow yourself some flexibility. Sometimes your characters chime in, and sometimes what clicks in an outline doesn’t align with how things are progressing in your prose and you have to adjust. Change can be good – though, being a teensy, tiny, itty-bitty bit of a control freak, I’m reluctant to admit it!

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

I usually have ideas come to me pretty often (*knocks on wood*). For me, the challenge comes with executing the ideas well. Because of my screenwriting background, I was basically trained to think of very high-concept ideas that could be summed up in a log line. But sometimes those high-concept ideas don’t work on paper. I try not to get too attached to my ideas. I casually date my ideas, then decide if we should commit or break up. 

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I typically only have one idea at a time. I fancy myself a monogamist. I’m really running with this relationship metaphor. In the spirit of full transparency, I have to admit that I have, on occasion, had mistresses. I’ve definitely been 20,000 words into a project and had a mistress idea. A new idea that tempts and distracts me. Then I have to make a judgement call. If I’m really obsessed with my mistress and she’s all I can think about, then I need to figure out if I should finish my current project or abandon it for my mistress.

I have 5 cats (seriously, check my Instagram feed) and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

I have one cat, her name is Gatsby, and she keeps me company sometimes, but she can be very distracting. She is a brat and demands constant attention. I like silence when I write, and she does not abide! My husband has learned to leave me alone and stay quiet while I’m writing. He’s a good sport!