"How do you come up with those crazy plots?"

One or two people in the past have asked me, "How do you come up with those crazy plots?" Usually, the question is followed with an expression on their faces that makes me wonder if they're about to call the police or the local mental hospital. Well,...it all starts with a "What if...?" as in, "What if aliens visited the earth and demanded we give them our teens or they'd incinerate the planet." Or, "What if the only thing stopping global thermonuclear war was a lone computer genius and his laptop?" Once I have the "What if...", I try to imagine an ending. After all, with any journey you take you want to know where you're going before you start out. After I have an idea of a good ending it's a matter of coming up with a "hook" with the opening chapter. Then comes the hard part: the middle. I've taken some time away from plotting my next novel to write this post. So, I'd better get back to work before the guys in the white suits with the straight jackets come a knocking. 

---