A Writer's Inspiration

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What do you ask a person when you learn that he or she writes?

Most people start with:  "Are you published?"  If people spend a little more time on the topic, they ask: "Where do you get your ideas?"

Inspiration surfaces in a variety of ways.  Some originate from actual events.  That's where my story, Whippoorwill Calling, originated. When I was in high school, my friends and I played a practical joke on a close friend. I have used this experience as a story-telling exercise in public speaking in the past.  Why not write a story?  To make it believable, I had to change the facts a little, but at its core, the story relies on a true event.  You can read it in The Petigru Review, available November 1 on Amazon.

A green and yellow striped paper clip provided the inspiration for Lifesource, a speculative fiction short story published last year in Stupefying Stories.

Sometimes a scene appears in my mind: a white kitchen looking into a large great room completely decorated in white, the kitchen's large pane glass windows looking out on a snowfall.  That clean and simple scene launched Gentle Snow, a short story coming soon in the fall issue of moonShine review.

Other ideas creep up on me.  The beginning of my fantasy novel started with a dream, but the overall story has blossomed into something bigger.

What if questions launch stories as do conversations with others.  It might be a picture, or a comment, or...  The possibilities are endless.

It doesn't really matter where the stories come from.  What matters is that writers write them, so readers can read them.

But since it's a common question, where do you get your inspiration?

PS  If you're not a writer, what's the most inspired story you've ever read?

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