Ideas. They're magical! They show up--we grab them, coax them, do battle with them. We writers have a working relationship with ideas.

Where do we find them? They find us--if we're open to them. Read. Watch movies. Listen to music. Look in your newspaper. Eavesdrop on the guy you share a bench with at your daughter's ballet class.

Is that cell phone attached to his ear because he's embarrassed at hanging around dance classes? Is he too focused on work to pay attention to his daughter? Is he instructing an accomplice to hide the body of the client he murdered on his way out of his office?

Notice the questions above. Which interests you more? I want a client list, but maybe you want to know if this is a single dad finishing his day's work on the phone so he*ll have time to share dinner and a good-night book with his daughter. The important thing is this: Dad showed up on the bench and we began to ask questions about him.

On a practical note, I hope you have paper and pen with you. Hey, you can find out what Dad has in his briefcase if you borrow a sheet of paper.

Write down your ideas. Puzzle out the questions that give Dad a story. Is he going to fall in love with the ballet teacher? Is he going to need a lawyer? Is he an agency operative who killed the supposed client to keep a secret formula out of enemy hands?

Ideas are magical, but they're not sacred. If you've kept asking why, but your answers are growing convoluted--if you're creating whole plotlines to make one small aspect of your idea work--step back. Listen to your gut.

If Dad's actually a baker who murdered his blueberry supplier, and the only reason you have for this plotline is getting Dad together with the supplier's daughter, the ballet instructor, you're going to feel a little queasy. You're going to try to skim over this part of your synopsis. Editors don't skim. This part of the idea isn't working.

Any time you have a problematic plot point, and your only answer to why is "because it's a romance" or "because it's a mystery" or my personal favorite, "because I like it," consider reconsidering. These aren't strong enough reasons to keep a plot point in a story.

It's time to meet with a brainstorming partner, someone who's willing to help you work out protagonists, believable conflict, and a resolution that bring Dad and the ballet instructor together in a smooth, seamless story.