Ideas are like Butterflies...
A Guest Post by Cathy MacPhail (Between the Lies, Devil You Know)
When I visit schools, I always tell pupils that you can train your brain to find ideas. Stephen King says that ideas are like rabbits: get two and before you know it you have loads of them. I agree with that. Ideas are everywhere, and you just have to train your brain to catch them, like butterflies in a net.
The first hint of an idea for Between the Lies came from the type of post I wish there was no need for on social media. It was a photograph of a missing boy, along with a heartfelt plea from a friend or relative. Please share.
I began to wonder who this particular boy was, and why he had gone missing. The horror that his friends and family must be feeling. From a terrible situation came the germ of an idea, and my first butterfly in the net.
Then, I saw another post, about an even more awful situation. A boy who had committed suicide as a result of online bullying. I’d seen a number of posts and articles about young people who had been pushed to the edge by vicious posts and comments on social media. How bad did it have to be to make a young person so desperate?
I wanted to raise awareness of this type of online bullying, and the devastating consequences that could result. Another butterfly in the net.
At the same time, I was reading so many thrillers with twists and turns and surprises so it was already in my head to write something similar. And I went to bed one night and – I swear this is true – I woke up with the plot of Between the Lies mapped out in my head. It was as if someone had visited me in the night and left me a gift.
I had a missing girl, Judith, her photo posted and shared on social media, and another girl, Abbie, an outsider, a loner, and the girl Judith finally contacts. And a whole heap of questions. Where had Judith gone, and why had she left? Why, with all the friends she has, does Judith contact school nobody Abbie?
Of course I can’t tell you too much, you’ll have to read it to untangle the truth for yourself! I didn’t have all of the answers immediately, but that’s the excitement of writing. It’s like setting out on a journey. You know where you are going, but you don’t know what you might encounter along the way. You don’t know who you might meet. There could be roadblocks, or diversions, or you might pick up a hitchhiker, or be caught in a storm.
I love that excited feeling I get when I am beginning that journey. I hope you enjoy the journey in Between The Lies too.
Between the Lies by Cathy MacPhail is available now!
