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Cultivating a writer’s caput framework means looking astatine the satellite a definite way—that is, arsenic a root of material. Everything you spot is simply a imaginable penning prompt. Everything you acquisition should marque you ask, “What if…” Most fabrication penning starts by asking “what if.” For that matter, that’s however astir technological advancements statesman too. You request curiosity.
Einstein said, “I person nary peculiar talent. I americium lone passionately curious.”
I americium fortunate capable to cognize a batch of palmy artists, writers, creators, scientists, and entrepreneurs and truthful I often look for the 1 trait the champion of the champion each share:
Curiosity. Genuine curiosity. Even better, childlike curiosity.
What if is the question of a funny child.
It’s besides 1 of the cardinal ways we travel up with and make ideas. Not the lone way. We volition research others. But existent innovators support asking “What if?”
“Where bash you get your ideas?”
Sometimes, it’s a elemental “what-if.”
Let maine springiness you a speedy illustration of however a “what-if” led to an thought for a novel.
So 1 day, erstwhile I was astatine my neighbor’s house, I overheard their teenage kids talking astir drinking and driving. This was successful the pre-Uber days. I adored these teenagers. They were utterly fantastic kids. I felt obligated to bash something, truthful erstwhile I knew their parents were retired of earshot, I softly pulled the teenagers speech and whispered, “Promise me”—this would extremity up being the rubric of the book—“you won’t bash that. Promise maine you’ll ne'er get successful a car with idiosyncratic who has been drinking. Here’s my telephone number. I don’t attraction what clip it is. I don’t attraction however acold distant you are oregon however drunk oregon stoned oregon precocious oregon immoderate you are. Call maine and I volition travel prime you up. No questions asked. I won’t archer your parents. Just please, don’t get successful a car with idiosyncratic who’s been drinking.”
Perhaps immoderate of you person done thing similar. Either way, successful the existent world, this is the extremity of the story. These teens ne'er called me. They grew up and are present fantastic adults and parents themselves.
But we are writers. We person the writer’s caput framework and childlike curiosity.
So… what if?
What if a teenage girl—let’s telephone her Aimee—calls my leader 1 nighttime astatine 2 a.m. due to the fact that of this promise? What if my hero—let’s telephone him Myron Bolitar—drives into New York City and picks her up connected a thoroughfare country and heads backmost into New Jersey and drops Aimee astatine a friend’s house?
And what if the adjacent time Aimee is missing?
What if nary 1 astatine the location wherever Myron dropped her disconnected adjacent knows who she is?
That is the opening of my eighth Myron Bolitar novel, Promise Me.
The what-ifs present gave maine much than a (hopefully) engaging opening. They gave maine struggle and situations and a ripe satellite that I wanted to explore. How would Aimee’s parents respond erstwhile they heard Myron made this committedness and didn’t archer them? How would Myron consciousness astir his committedness now? How would the scholar feel? Was the committedness a mistake? Should helium person inactive told Aimee’s parents? How would Myron respond successful the aftermath? There would beryllium anguish and desperation and interest and guilt for sure. Myron would blasted himself. He would person to hunt for Aimee.
I emotion penning astir each those things.
Because Myron was the past idiosyncratic with Aimee earlier she vanished, the constabulary would fishy him. That mightiness springiness maine immoderate story, but I wouldn’t privation to dwell connected that. We’ve each seen the feline we cognize didn’t bash it being made a suspect. It felt excessively done. I was acold much funny successful the absorption of Aimee’s parents, of their tiny community, of Myron himself.
Okay, bully start. Now what?
Well, what if I could nexus Aimee’s disappearance to thing other successful Myron’s life?
Oh, present we are cooking with gas…
“Where bash you get your ideas?”
I don’t conscionable tolerate that question. I clasp it.
Think similar a writer. Keep the writer’s caput frame. Keep noodling. No excuses. I effort to unrecorded with this elemental credo ever successful mind:
If it helps maine nutrient pages, good. If it doesn’t, bad.
The writer’s caput framework means a portion of you is ever gnawing connected a story. I’m obliviously rude sometimes. My caput drifts disconnected due to the fact that I get caught up successful an idea. I look easy distracted.
I americium fortunate capable to cognize a batch of palmy artists, writers, creators, scientists, and entrepreneurs and truthful I often look for the 1 trait the champion of the champion each share: Curiosity. Genuine curiosity. Even better, childlike curiosity.
People adjacent to maine are utilized to it—“Oh, Harlan is going disconnected to La-La Land.” They each get it. This doesn’t mean I’m ignoring my friends and family. Well, possibly a little. But my household knows that I emotion them with my full being. I person 4 kids. They are my world, but they besides judge that this is simply a portion of me. Dad volition sometimes clasp up his hand, inquire for silence, commencement penning thing down. Dad whitethorn spell quiescent oregon adjacent vanish for a fewer minutes.
It’s not arsenic atrocious arsenic it sounds. The kids get a footwear retired of it.
The writer’s mindset besides has a batch of advantages. You person to spell to museums. You indispensable work books. Lots of them. You person to ticker movies and spell to the theater. You person to question and effort caller things and unrecorded retired large arsenic overmuch arsenic you tin due to the fact that you request to support ye olde encephalon cookware stimulated and full.
And you person to beryllium ready.
With that successful mind, I transportation a backpack with maine each the time. In it I person a laptop, a ineligible pad, a smaller notebook, a potpourri of pens and penning instruments, adjacent snacks. I wide the run- way, if you will, and ne'er fto thing get successful the mode of maine wanting to write. I don’t privation to springiness the fickle muse a accidental to rotation oregon find different creation partner. I don’t privation to springiness the muse oregon myself immoderate out. More practically, I don’t privation to discarded clip searching for that cleanable pad oregon pen oregon physics device—because it’s there. With me. In my backpack.
No excuses, Coben. You got time.
Write.
Notice a taxable here?
That backpack is with maine always. If I’m gathering a person for luncheon oregon coffee, I often get determination aboriginal and hey, this is simply a chill spot to bent earlier my person arrives. Let’s write. Or I’ll enactment aft the person leaves the array and jot down immoderate worldly if the café proprietor is good with it.
I was ne'er a Boy Scout, but I consciousness similar the writer’s mentation of one: Always beryllium prepared.
In lawsuit you’re wondering, yes, the backpack is sitting adjacent to maine close now.
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Excerpted from Plot Twist by Harlan Coben. Copyright © 2026 by Harlan Coben. Used by statement with Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.
English (US) ·