“Where do your writing ideas come from?”

“Where do your writing ideas come from?”

What writer hasn’t heard that question? Most would likely tell you that their ideas come from their own, personal experiences.

Some of those might be positive while others may not. And the kinds of stories these memories generate often reflect those experiences.

I’ve been blessed with a wide variety of experiences while producing films and video programs, or TV commercials, across this country and around the world.

While working on Pilgrim’s Progress, in Ireland and England, I had the privilege of working alongside Liam Neeson in his first dramatic role in a feature motion picture.

Many of the other projects were films for children where I learned about dramatic pacing and storytelling.

A children's film project in Wyoming provided material for Big Rig Rustlers which will be republished later this year. And a client video production in Virginia suggested the background for Secret of Abbott’s cave which will also be published this year.

Film productions in Florida, and the jungles of New Guinea, came together in the story for Lost Island Smugglers, the first book in the Sam Cooper Adventure Series. That book will be published in August.

In addition to traveling for production, I had a great childhood where we were free to roam the woods and lakes around our Michigan home. It wasn’t unusual to hit the back door after breakfast – or we’d even take food with us – and not return home until nearly dark. Many of those adventures can be found in the pages of my books.

So, I guess you could say I’m fortunate in the ideas department. My life has provided an abundance of sources for characters, settings, and stories.

Keep an eye out this year for the re-release of Newspaper Caper, Terror at Wolf Lake, North Woods Poachers, Mountain Cabin Mystery, Big Rig Rustlers, Secret of Abbott’s Cave, & Legend of the White Wolf, and the new releases of Lost Island Smugglers, and Barney and The Runaway. These will be followed by a number of additional titles beginning in 2011.

To other writers, where do your ideas come from?

Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Search there for Max Elliot Anderson.