
Oftentimes, we writers are asked, “where do you get your ideas?” As writers know, ideas come from all directions, a strong belief, life’s struggles, romance, tragedy, or a stunning conversation.
For instance, years ago at a community playhouse, I was talking with the wardrobe mistress who was altering my costume. We were discussing romantic relationships when she revealed a most shocking story. Her mother had married a man she had been dating! I’ve heard of best friends betraying one another in that manner but never mother and daughter. My own daughter was a teenager and I noticed that she was getting as many admiring glances from men when we were out as I was getting.
An idea for a play blossomed. I wrote a comedy about a sexy businesswoman named Naomi Harper who was determined to seduce a younger man in her office who was her protege. Cynthia, her artistic, introverted daughter invites her mother to lunch to reveal that she is in a serious relationship with the same man. Entitled The Eclipse, the play won first place in a one-act playwriting festival. So, when creating a plot, an idea can germinate from anywhere.