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uh... basically I always have my antenna up I'm always looking for that new idea
I've described this before got a cardboard box I now hide it under lock and key because
I've told this story too much I'm afraid that someone is going
to break into my house and steel it and then my career goes away
because I'm always looking for things to put into the box
either there is a piece of history that ends in a question mark a historical mystery that hopefully I can answer
or a bit of science that makes me go what if this happened
I'm also looking for exotic locations to tell stories at
all these little tid bits go in there whether its from national geographic or scientific America
or from watching History Channel or from Entertainment Weekly
or maybe not so much Entertainment Weekly
So all those things go in one box and I limit it to one box because if I don't
one box becomes two boxes become four boxes and before you know it
it's James Rollins on hoarders
So I have comb through that every now an then again to find out which ideas
still feel fresh to me what hasn't been done already
ideas that no longer interest me so it literally gets dumped on the floor
and I will sift through there looking for something that might make a story what happens in that moment is that odd things
will wind up on the floor next to each other that piece of history that pice of science
I would never in my own head connect the two but because they happen to randomly fall
on the ground that way I start to see a story
that is my process now you may all steel it