Siracha asked Sandra Waugh:

how do you process your ideas?

Sandra Waugh Thank you for asking, Mei!

I'm one of those writers who believes ideas for stories do not come out of something I construct but rather discover--as if an image, or a feeling, or a scene that flashes through my mind is a thread of a whole story floating by. I can try to catch it and hold on, but if I'm not paying attention, or too slow, or it doesn't fully interest me, then the thread floats on, free for someone else to grab. The process, then, is really about LISTENING--meaning, following that thread and gathering more of them. I listen to (gather) the story mostly while I'm doing chores, silly as that sounds. But chores are quiet, repetitive moves which open space in my head for all those threads. Mowing the lawn is my favorite. So I gather threads, write, go mow the lawn or weed the garden or dust to gather more threads, and write some more. (That makes it sound like I must have a very clean house, which, alas, I do not.)

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