All writers are asked at one time or another (actually many times) where their ideas come from. My answer is that there are ideas everywhere, often too many. The trick is to find one with legs, that will sustain a whole novel, that will keep the reader (and the writer) interested from beginning to end.
Here's a story about one that got away; one that intrigued us, but we eventually discarded it. However, a recent event has brought it back into my mind. Does it have the required legs? I don't know, but my mind is whirring away.
A few years ago, Michael and I were brainstorming plot and backstory ideas for an upcoming Detective Kubu mystery. Obviously, because Kubu lives in Botswana and works for the Botswana Police Service Criminal Investigation Department, the ideas had to be pertinent to Botswana.
One of us, I don't remember who, stumbled upon a newspaper report of something that happened in 1999, quite a few years before we started the series. An Air Botswana pilot, who had been grounded because he was unable to pass his physical examination, became increasingly frustrated by his situation and decided to end his life. He did so in a way that apparently made sense to him. He stole one of Air Botswana's ATR-42 turboprop passenger planes off the apron at the Sir Seretse Khama airport in Gaborone, then flew it round for a couple of hours, buzzing the buildings and making threats to crash into the airport terminal.
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| 1999 suicide aftermath |
When he was told again that there were people in the terminal, the pilot decided to wreak the greatest damage he could and crashed his plane into the remaining Air Botswana's planes that were on the apron. The man died and was the only casualty. Air Botswana lost all but one of its fleet.
It's not difficult to create myriad stories from this incident. What if it wasn't suicide? What if there was a second body in the plane? What if...? What if...?
We eventually shelved the idea because we thought that it would be very insensitive to the family of the pilot, even though it was a decade later.
Last week, a South African born pilot who had lived in Botswana with his wife for 10 years deliberately crashed A Beechcraft 200 into the terminal at Matsieng Aerodrome just north of Gaborone. Although there are conflicting reports, it appears that his wife was attending a stork party at the airport. The man showed up uninvited and there was an altercation between him and his wife. He left, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, and drove to Sir Seretse Khama airport less than an hour away. There he stole the Beechcraft, which was on standby for medical alerts, flew it to Matsieng, and executed several low passes.
From the cockpit, he called a friend at the airport asking if his wife was there. The friend fortunately sensed that the man may try to do harm and shouted for everyone to evacuate. Minutes later the Beechcraft flew into the terminal. The pilot was the only fatality, but there was extensive property damage.
Again my mind is spinning. There are so many plot possibilities. However this time, my thoughts seem to be revolving around the sadness that surrounds any event when someone feels it necessary to takes his or her own life. What was going on in the relationship with his wife? What was going on in their heads? Were there any external pressures? Maybe other people involved? Maybe it's not even a detective story.
Will these ideas make it into a book? I don't know right now. But I'm intrigued.
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Upcoming Events
A lot of familiar names in the panels below. Very lekker!
Crimefest, Bristol, England
FRIDAY, 10 MAY
17:10 – 18:00
Sunshine Noir
* Paul Hardisty
* Barbara Nadel
* Jeffrey Siger
* Robert Wilson
Participating Moderator: Stan Trollip
SATURDAY, 11 MAY
11:20 – 12:10
10 Year Stretch: The CrimeFest Anthology
* Peter Guttridge
* Caro Ramsay
* Zoë Sharp
* Michael Stanley (aka Stanley Trollip)
Participating Moderator: Kate Ellis
what is a stork party? Is that something to do with a very small human being?
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, I have often wondered about the Germanwings pilot Lubitz and the way he committed suicide, why he took the passengers with him, what was going through his mind to act like that? What desperation drove him?
So very sad.
You've got it right about a stork party. I'd forgotten about Lubitz - and didn't mention Malaysian airlines because nobody knows what happened, although suicide is often mentioned. Very sad.
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