FINDING A STORY

I often wander around the bookstores and read the backcover blurb on books. I'm amazed at the story lines, they all hook me, I want to read them all. Just how do these authors come up with these stories?
Is there a formula? If so where can I find it.

Story Ideas

I write historical romance but I like to think my books are not just about the romance, they contain a wealth of historical information too.
To make my books accurate for the period, I trawl through old newspapers for ideas.
I read the West Briton and Cornish Gazette from the early 1800's. Full of stories I could use and adapt in my book. Also great fun to read and immerse myself in what was important at that time.
I think this will always be a starting point for me. A look into the past.

The Plot

When I wrote my first book I had no writing skills, just wrote from the heart. The novel was written for my Mum and she loved it.

So I decided to write another, fiction not a true story.

This time I wanted to learn the ropes and improve my writing. I went down the self-help route.

First stop, how to structure a novel. The books below helped me plan my novel.

I read and loved the following books;

Structure Your Novel by K.M Weiland and Super Structure by James Scott Bell

WHERE TO START

I wrote my first novel for my Mum. 'Proof Of Existence' is the true story about her great grandfather and follows his life until the day he died.
My Mum knew nothing about this man so I wanted to give her as much information as possible about him and how he lived.
I wrote it without having ever written anything before and whilst I am proud of it and my Mum absolutely loved it, I knew I could do better.
I wanted to write another novel. And so my journey began.