How Did You Come Up With That?

Right around the time I sold THE ART OF ESCAPING, I decided to finally let my mom read it. She loved it (because of course—she’s my mom), but her reaction had some interesting layers. First, there was the sad and hilarious I had no idea you were so miserable in high school layer (my response: I think you already knew this and just blocked it out). Then, there was the inevitable question that writers tend to get from non-writers: How did you come up with that?

I think writers tend to avoid ask...