It's probably the question most asked of writers... where do ideas come from?
And all of us, if we're being honest, have to reply: 'I have no idea.'
Of course, it's easy enough to make something up (we're writers after all): like, 'oh, I just nip down to the ideas tree at the end of the garden'. But that's cheating, as well as being unfair to people who are genuinely interested.
The truth is that ideas come from soaking up everyday life, listening to conversations, reading other people's stories, and - perhaps most importantly - from our unconscious minds (the bit of us we know nothing about but which accounts for roughly half our brains).
That's why I ignore the usual advice given to would-be writers: 'write about what you know'.
Why would anyone want to do that? It's much more fun to let your mind wander to new places and imagine new situations, if not whole new worlds (did I mention I spent most of my childhood lost in space, thanks to sci fi books?).
My advice is not to take any advice (except mine, of course); to trust yourself; to be receptive.
You'll know you're on the right track when you lose yourself.
And when someone asks you where you got the idea from, you'll know exactly what to say...
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