Writers take their story ideas from a lot of places. At times, they don’t even know where the ideas originated. For my upcoming release, Lexie, I went back to a topic that’s fascinated me for a long time. Twins.
In school, my class was packed with multiples. I can recall five pairs of twins and one set of triplets, most of them fraternal. Then there were the identical ones. Since I grew up with them, I could always tell them apart, but what must it be like to go through life with someone so like you? Someone who is always at your side? And has your face? Is it comforting or frustrating?
The University of Minnesota is a forerunner in research into twins. In 1979, TJ Bouchard started conducting research into twins reared apart. It’s led to some really interesting findings that not only address the subject of nature versus nurture, but have also been useful in the study of medicine. See more about the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research here, particularly the study of twins reared apart. I went to a presentation once by a researcher in this department and absolutely loved it. Identical twins were similar in odd ways. For example, when pictures of them were analyzed, twins often chose the same hairstyles and body types. What was most interesting to me, though, was the similarity in their poses — and they seemed to be doing it subconsciously.
So that’s where the idea for Lexie started. It’s the story of long-lost identical sisters reuniting. I loved doing the research for this book, so I’ll probably share a few more interesting links in subsequent posts. I hope you find the topic as intriguing as I do.
So what about you? Have you known any sets of twins? What similarities did you notice between them, besides just their looks? Or are they totally different, despite their shared genes?