Andrew Beet asked Michael Jan Friedman:

how do you get an idea for a story?

Michael Jan Friedman Thanks for the question, Andrew. An idea can come from almost anywhere--an experience, the newspaper, a book you're reading, a picture, etc. The key is to know what to do with it. I once saw a news story about a guy who had been killed in the polar bear habitat at a zoo. I wondered who he was, and how he had gotten into the habitat, and why. Once you figure those things out, you have a character and you know what his problem (or conflict) is. And when you know that, you go on to elements like theme and setting. Take my latest book, for which I'm running a Kickstarter campaign even as we speak: I was reading about the ten days Pope Gregory eliminated in 1582 when he switched to the new (Gregorian) calendar. "Eliminated ten days..." I thought. "Did something happen in those ten days that compelled him to eliminate them?" And away I went.

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