Patricia Sargeant

It Sounded Better in My Head

This great story idea came to me in the shower almost a year ago. I’ve heard stuff like that happens a lot at least to novelists, songwriters and screenwriters. It’s supposedly because our minds are more relaxed in the shower or the bathtub. We don’t have a million things and people vying for our attention. We can let our guard down and be alone with our thoughts.

Anyway, where was I? That’s right. I was in the shower. Suddenly two characters stumbled into my mind, a man and a woman. They know each other. They have a history. They’re clandestine spies. They tell me their story. It’s a romantic suspense with a reunited couple. One of my favorite tropes. I think their mission is super awesome. They seem like nice people. I’m all in.

At the time I make their acquaintance, I’m on deadline with a couple of other projects. However, during the weeks and months that pass, I take notes on their story. I know where and when it takes place. I have their backstory or at least most of it. I know what they want, what they need and what’s keeping them from achieving their goals. I know their enemies. I also know their secrets. Most of them.

Then they introduce me to their friends. Bonus! My mind is blown. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a series. Well, a limited series. There are four couples, each with their own book. One couple takes the lead in a story with a plot that advances the team’s main mission. I’m excited. I have all these scenes, settings and dialogue filling my head. I’m impatient to get started on this project. But when I sit down to flesh out each couple’s story within the series, everything falls apart. I’ve got a book one, a book two and a book four. But book three is stubbornly resisting me. My Muse is mocking me.

Mocking me.

I’ve spent the past week staring at my computer. Do I drop the third couple and make the series a trilogy? But then what happens to the couple in the third book and their mission?

Should I merge books two and three or books three and four? Doing that would split up the five-member team, though, and the team works as a unit.

Should I submit the proposal for the first book and the summaries for the three other books and hope I’ll get a better handle on book three once book one is complete? I don’t like jumping without a parachute.

My couples have gone silent. No help there. After this experience, I’m thinking of switching to baths; no more showers.

Question for our authors: Have you been in similar predicaments?

Question for our readers: Do you like crime fiction series with cliffhangers?

31 thoughts on “It Sounded Better in My Head”

  1. Now I want that series! Don’t worry, your muse will come back to you. In the meantime, I’d like to recommend one of those waterproof notepads that you can keep in the shower for when you get a great idea at the most inconvenient time!

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    2. As soon as I buy something like that I have ZERO ideas, ha! I’ve learned from sad experience that leaving a notepad and pen (or now, just my cell phone note pad) on my nightstand is a guaranteed good night’s sleep.

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  2. Sounds like your muse might just be on vacation. She’ll be back recharged and ready to rock your world! Meanwhile, I have to say, I am not a huge fan of cliffhangers unless the next book is almost available. There is one series I was reading, but when it took a year between books, I gave up on it. The momentum just gets lost for me.

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  3. Yes – when coming up with a pilot pitch for a TV series! There’s nothing worse than coming to the realization that the idea you were so excited about, and your agent was excited about, and the meeting is he set up or excited about would never sustain 100 episodes for a series.

    but I still think you’ve got an amazing amount to work with and the answer will come to you!

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  4. Well, gosh, Patricia–3 out of 4 is still amazing! Maybe that 3rd couple will be right back–they’re busy on a spinoff series mission you’ll be writing about next. Or maybe this mission is especially difficult, and it’s taking longer to complete. Then they’ll be back to tell you about it. Maybe they have to keep it a big secret from the other couples. (And, therefore, um, you.) I’m a fan of cliffhangers, as long as I feel that an episode or series’ “ending-for-now” is in some way satisfying in itself.

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    1. Lisa! Oh, my word! Could we get adjoining offices? LOL! Yes, I believe they have to keep their mission a big secret from the other couples/me for the time being. I just have to torture them… I mean cajole them… into giving up the goods. LOL! As Aaron Rogers (Steelers QB) would say, I just need to R-E-L-A-X and let it come to me. But your theories made me cry with laughter. Thank you! LOL!

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  5. I’m with Lisa. I think three out of four is amazing. Usually, when I have issues, I’ve briefly outlined something and then try writing the ms, only to get S-T-U-C-K. (Though, truth be told, I’ve also finished certain stories, only to find that they were better for exercising unfamiliar writing techniques than creating amazing plots.) Anywho, I hope the subplot in book 2 leads to book 3; maybe the other couples will whisper more secrets to you soon.

    As for cliffhangers, I’m okay with them if they’re mini. I don’t like huge ones at the end of books.

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    1. Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing! It really helps to know I’m not alone. For books 2 and 3, I’m going to write the 25 things that have to happen in each book to see if that helps. Fingers and toes crossed. LOL!

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  6. Well, let me just start by saying that I’ve never had an idea for more than one book plot at a time, so I’m mighty impressed by your three (and maybe four) book series idea! And I love the concept, so for purely selfish reasons, I hope you do write it and get it published!

    As for ideas, I often get them on my bike rides, when it would be difficult to stop and take notes on my phone–especially on the uphill slogs. No way do I want to stop what little momentum I have an have to start again! So I repeat the ideas over and over again in my head as I pedal on, and then rush to my computer to write them down as soon as I get home.

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    1. Leslie, thank you so much for your encouragement on my series! It means a lot. Wow! I’m in awe of people who can ride their bikes up hills. Oh, my goodness. I suck wind running up hills. I can only imagine the effort it takes to ride a bike up hill. Good on you!

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  7. If you got plots 1,2,& 4, 3 will come easily.

    As for cliffhangers, not a fan if the killer does not come to justice in the current book that I’m reading. Romance and such, fine that can be a cliffhanger.

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  8. Unfortunately, ideas do not a story make. A story is a series of scenes, each following logically from those before. Those never come to me in the shower – they require work. Drat.

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  9. What a fun idea for a series! I vote you go for it and submit a summary pitch for that pesky 3rd book. I bet it comes to you. I do my best thinking while hiking, probably easier to take notes than while in the shower!

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  10. I’m not the biggest fan of cliffhangers at the end of books since, if I’m reading as a series comes out, it’s such a long wait for the next in the series. But the time it comes out, I’ve often forgotten what was even going on.

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  12. I frequently get ideas in the shower. Then I have to scramble to remember them. However, yes, sometimes they turn out not to be that workable once I’ve toweled off.

    I have a project simmering that can’t decide if it wants to be a stand-alone or a limited series. LOL

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