What is My Inspiration

People often ask me where do I come up with ideas for a story? My response is that is both an easy question and a hard question to answer. The simplest response is that I get my ideas for the books I write from my life. I pull ideas from what is happening around me. Although, it’s not like I sit down at a park bench or at a diner for Sunday morning breakfast and make a point to write about something I see. It’s much more casual and organic than that.

The opportunities are endless for where I source ideas from. I could be at the gas station and see another customer washing his car windows with his children throwing a tantrum inside the car or be driving down the interstate and see lone cow in a field out the window. I could be at my children’s sporting games and talking with other parents about one of their life’s events or walking the dog and see children’s toys spread out in a neighbor’s driveway. The point is that I pull ideas for my stories organically from my surroundings. I may even pull a memory from my childhood and develop that nugget into a scene or maybe a plot line.

No matter where I am at when an idea strikes, I ask myself a simple question? Would that situation make for a good story? If it wouldn’t make for a story, could it be used to develop a scene? I also ask myself if that is interesting enough as-is or would I need to add a little twist to the idea. I always try to keep an open mind and be ready for when an idea strikes. Cause it happens like lightning. Flash. There one second and gone the next.

So, how do I remember all the ideas? I don’t just make a mental note of the idea. I write it down. I commit it to paper or jot it in my phone so that I can reference it later. One of the most important tools I utilize is my phone. I carry it with me wherever I go. And I make sure that the software I use is backed up to the cloud. If you don’t use your phone, then use a small journal or pad of paper. Just make sure that it is handy whenever you need it. You never know when an idea will form.

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