Elaine Faber

Where does an author get ideas for a fiction novel?

Some authors include personal experiences. Some writers base their characters on friends, relatives or next-door neighbors. An idea for a novel can be gleaned from a newspaper article or a gossip column. Some authors come up with a rough idea for a plot and characters, and then let the characters tell their own story.

Years ago, my parents told me I used to bury my toys in the sand and then my dad had to dig them up. Aha! What if someone dug up something a toddler buried years ago and it became the clue to solving a murder?

With that concept, I started writing my first novel, Black Cat’s Legacy. Before I knew it, Black Cat (Thumper) jumped into the tale, took over and became the catalyst of the story. Having his ancestors’ memories, he tries to help Kimberlee solve her father’s murder. Something buried by the toddler years before played into the plot, but only in a very minor way. Who knew? From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.

So, a whole novel can begin with the kernel of an idea. When I begin to write, the characters often highjack the story. I follow their lead until the scene plays out. When this happens, they can take it in surprising and unplanned directions. This can be good or bad depending on the temperament of my characters. Most unnerving is when one of them makes an unpredictable move and I have to ask, “What the heck just happened? How do I get him out of this?”

That’s usually when the mischievous character decides to take a vacation and leaves me trying to resolve the muddle they just created. And my mind is blank, and I’ve got nothin’.

What does an author do when they get writer’s block? Again, there are as many answers as there are authors. But here is the best one I’ve ever heard.

What’s the worst thing that can happen? Using that concept, I conjure up several alternatives, pick one and run with it.

Here’s an example: My character is frying bacon and the skillet catches fire. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She pulls the fire extinguisher off the wall. It’s empty!  What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She grabs her cellphone to call the fire department. Dead battery. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She yanks open the front door, screaming, “Fire, fire.” A religious zealot on the doorstep, says, “You tell it, sister. Hell fire is for eternity!”

You get the idea. See how easily my imagined skillet fire scene just got away from me? I had planned she would grab a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. I hadn’t planned anyone at the door... But, as usual, my 30-second example character took control and finished the scene better than I had planned. With my characters, I’m used to them being in control. I’m sort of just along for the ride.

You can find my novels at Amazon in paperback and e-book. For a fun read, I recommend any of my 13 novels. Check them all at Amazon.

DOES GOD LOVE CATS? YES, HE DOES!

I love my cat, Truffie. She has added joy to my life for 16 years! Every day, she brings a smile to my face and makes me laugh. She loves me unconditionally even when I’m grumpy or had a bad day. She even loves me when I tease her and tickle her back foot!

When Truffie was very young, one day, she stopped eating. She lost weight. I’d taken her to the vet twice. My credit card charges was over $600. The vet scratched his head. “All the lab tests and x-rays are normal. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Maybe we could−”

“No,” I said. “I can’t afford to spend any more money. Not if we don’t even know what’s wrong.”

Truffie was sick for five days. If something didn’t change soon, I thought she would die. She still wouldn’t eat. She wouldn’t drink water. She had a fever. None of her prescribed medications had helped.

I worried and wondered. Does God even care if Truffie is sick? We know He cares about our health and our finances and foreign affairs and the troops in faraway places. But does God really care if my cat is sick? Does He have time to hear my prayers, considering His busy schedule healing folks, protecting our loved ones, and trying to make our politicians get along? You see, I’ve prayed about all those things for a while, but what about Truffie’s fever? Does He really care? Do I dare pray for God to heal her and expect a miracle?

I asked my pastor, “Do you think God answers our prayers when our animals are sick?” My pastor described a certain day at the Catholic Church, where people bring their animals to be blessed, but he couldn’t think of a verse in the Bible that specifically deals with God healing cats.

I opened the Bible to search for anything to suggest that God cared and would answer our prayers when are animals are sick. I found the following:

(Matthew 10:20 NIV)' 'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your FATHER’S care.’ Humm… Sparrows? Cats? Not quite the same, but if He loves sparrows, maybe He loves cats, too.

We’re all familiar with God’s blessings and promises. God gives us everything we need. Our home. Our loved ones. A job...–well, most of us have a job, or we had one, before the company downsized and now some of us have unemployment. But not many of us are going hungry, so even in our adversity, God supplies our needs. But that didn’t answer my question. Could I really expect Him to hear my prayers for Truffie? I moved on, reading more about prayer and faith.

(Matthew 7:7 NIV) 'Ask and it will be given to you.” Really? Just asking? Was that the key?

(Matthew 17:20 NIV)' 'For truly I say to you. If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move and nothing will be impossible. That sounded promising.

(Matthew 7:11 NIV)' And lastly… 'How much more will the Father in Heaven give good gifts to those (his children) who ask Him.’ Now, we were getting somewhere. Perhaps it was a matter of prayer with faith, not the specifics of what we pray for. What did I have to lose?

So, I prayed for Truffie. “Lord, you know how much I love her. You know how it would grieve me to lose her. I’m calling on Your promise, 'Ask and it will be given…'. I place this little cat in Your loving hands, Lord, and ask You to heal her and raise her up again. I’m asking because You’ve promised if I have faith…”

Now, I’m not going to tell you that a bright light surrounded the house or that Heaven opened and God’s voice rang out, “Truffie. Rise up and walk,” but the next day, Truffie started to eat. Her mood brightened. She purred. She was on her way. She would recover! And she did!

I know that God cares for our cats and dogs and rabbits and horses and all our pets. Not because there’s a verse in the Bible that specifically says so, but because we love them and He loves us enough to want our joy to be complete. He promises that if we ask and have faith, we can move mulberry trees into the sea, or move mountains from here to there, or maybe it’s all about teaching us to take all our cares to the Lord, no matter how big or small. And many times, according to his will, our prayers are answered.

Truffie is living proof.

God gave me the victory. God answered my prayer, and yes, I’m convinced.

God loves cats.