What if? Those words should be your guide. I write science fiction, a little horror, a bunch of crime, and three dramas. And each of them started with what if? You want to always ask that question, even when you’re writing a story about something normal and non-scifi and non-horror and non-spec. What if? What if vampires needed to apply for hunting permits? What if in the future, misdemeanor offenders have to pick up trash in orbit instead of by the highway? What if an upstan