Have you ever wondered how a story begins?

I’ve often been asked, “How do you come up with your story ideas?”

My sister is famous for calling me and telling me about one of her twisted or scary dreams. She's quick to say that I should build a story from it. There are times when yes, I can see a great novel forming, and other times where I see it being a short campfire story.

Now I admit…all the stories I've written are based upon my quiet time. I may be lying in bed, quietly resting in that lull state, where I can hear everything around me, but my mind isn't quite ready to take a break. Within moments, I’m sitting up with a pen and notepad in hand. A few hours later, the outline to a new story has been created before my very eyes. Once it's all written, I can then go to sleep.  

The most recent story is untitled. It is about Cain, he is one of the brothers three who guards Raine. If you’ve read New Raine, then you know who I am speaking of.

It has been four days of the same scene running through my head. There is not much change, besides how the female looks. How she interacts with him is always the same way. Each night, I lie in bed and try my very best to ignore the scenes that unravelled before me, but I can’t. It is an endless loop that must be written. I quietly snuck out of bed and wrote four chapters.

I was rather upset with my characters, because I had appointments the next day and I really needed to have a good nights sleep. I am beginning to think that my characters are haunting me. :) 

I am commonly asked, “What do you do for a living and do you like it?”
I always respond, “I am an author and it owns me. I don’t have normal hours, and thankfully my family is very supportive. Sometimes I’m locked away for days at a time.”

I ask you, my fellow writers, readers and bloggers. Am I the only one who experiences this or is it normal for all authors to have their dream career own them? Not that I mind, I just wonder if it’s normal.

Let me know,
Sass:)