Every Book Begins with a Question: Festival Authors Reveal Where Stories Really Come From. And How They’re Built
Some stories begin with a childhood memory. Others start with a road trip, an overheard conversation, or a simple ‘what if?’
But an idea is only ever the beginning. The real craft, say the authors appearing at this year’s Whitsundays Writers Festival, lies in what happens next. Turning a fleeting spark into characters readers care about, a plot that carries them somewhere, and a message that stays with them long after the final page.
At this year’s Whitsundays Writers Festival, attendees are invited behind the scenes of the creative process in a lively panel exploring one of the questions writers hear most often: Where do your ideas come from and how do they become a book?
Held on Sunday 13 September at the Whitsunday Marine Club, Cannonvale, the session brings together three regional authors whose inspiration comes from remarkably different places. From global travel and personal reflection to the landscapes of North Queensland.
Festival Director Richard Evans said the discussion is less about where ideas come from and more about how writers learn to recognise them, and what they do with them once found.
‘People often think authors have extraordinary imaginations, but the truth is they’re often paying closer attention to the world around them. The smallest observation; a look exchanged between strangers, a place that feels haunted by its own history can become the seed of a novel, a memoir, or a children’s book,’ Richard said.
‘But a seed is not a story. Every writer on this panel will suggest that the real work begins after the idea arrives. Asking the question that drives it, building characters who feel true, shaping a plot that earns its ending, and deciding what you want to leave the reader with.’
Meet the Panel
Krissy Regan
Children’s Author & Adult Personal Development
The panel features Krissy Regan, whose writing spans children’s books and personal development. After decades delivering projects around the world, she turned her attention to storytelling, publishing six books that encourage readers of all ages to grow, reflect, and imagine.
Gary Wood
Adventure Memoir
Joining her is award-winning travel writer and motorcycle adventurer Gary Wood, whose journeys through regional and remote Australia have inspired books celebrating the people, history, humour, and hidden places that define the Australian landscape.
Veronica Lando
Crime Fiction
Completing the panel is acclaimed crime novelist Veronica Lando, winner of the 2021 Banjo Prize for Fiction. Growing up above her family’s Melbourne bookshop, Veronica discovered stories early in life and now transforms the beauty and isolation of North Queensland into atmospheric crime fiction.
Together, the authors will share how ideas emerge, how inspiration becomes a finished manuscript, and why curiosity, paired with craft, remains a writer’s greatest tools.
The session is part of the 2026 Whitsundays Writers Festival, a one-day celebration of regional storytelling featuring keynote speaker Rachel Armstrong, presenting the annual From the Heart session.
Stories by the Sea, a free community event with more than 20 regional authors, live music, children’s activities, book sales, a community book swap, art demonstrations, and family-friendly entertainment; plus, a gold coin sausage sizzle.
Event Details
What: Whitsundays Writers Festival closing panel: Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas From?
When: 2pm Sunday 13 September 2026
Where: Whitsunday Marine Club, 7 Altmann Avenue, Cannonvale