lagilman | speaking of brains... how mine work (story-building version)

A few days ago I mentioned that I had an Idea for a new book, sparked off a conversation I was having with Madamoiselle Agent. Over the course of the next 24 hours, e-mails went back and forth, fine-turning some of the basic universal/structural ideas for worldbuilding, using M'selle Agent as a sounding board for my thoughts.

But as of then I had no real plot, no real idea of who the players would be; just a sense of the world, the conflict, and the 'hook.'

Oh, and a working title. *grin*

Saturday evening, I had a flash of one of the main characters: his physical attributes, his relation to the hero, etc. Okay, noted and filed. But I still needed my hero -- and at this point I didn't even know if it would be a hero or a heroine.

Driving home from dinner last night, cruising southbound on route 91, my hero dropped into my head. Literally. From vague thoughts about nothing whatsoever to do with the book, a character appeared, complete with physical appearance, backstory, trauma, and quirks. It's still blurry and subject to change as he is fitted into the story and vice versa, but the Team Hero players are on the stage.

I have Good Guys and Conflict.

Now I need the villian(s)....

Obviously, I need another longish car drive. Does this mean I get to deduct the cost of my vehicle (and petrol) as a work-related expense?

(and meanwhile, still must finish everything else on my plate before I get to go back to the story-buffet. Must. Work. Faster....)

(and for those following along the publishing game at home, the contracts for the new Anna Leonard arrived, have been looked over, signed, and are on their way back out today.)