I’m a huge fan of Dame Agatha Christie. I read all her books when I was a kid and I got so good at mystery solving, I could figure them out pretty early. I would write down who I thought did it and what page I was on when I figured it out. I then gave the note to my sister so she would see that I wasn’t cheating. One of the earliest professional plays I saw was The Mouse Trap in the West End of London and I’ve kept the vow all these years that I won’t tell whodunit. That’s the actual longest play running and they ask the audience at the end not to tell whodunit so that people new to the play won’t know.

Anyway, all this to lead up to a favorite quote of mine from Ms. Christie. She said, “The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”

I think she’s absolutely right. It’s when we’re doing mundane tasks that the best ideas come. I know it’s true for me.