One of the most common questions authors hear is, “Where do you get your ideas?” The reply I normally give is, “Anywhere and everywhere.” Sometimes, non-writers see that kind of response as a cop-out. But, I think most writers will see the truth in that answer.
We writers are, in our hearts, sponges. Every day, we open our pores and soak up what’s around us–sights, sound, odors, tastes. We absorb every human emotion, every heart-wrenching scene, every landscape, making notes in our mental databases or in our journals along the way. And when we’re filled to the point of excess, we wring ourselves out onto the page.
Our stories, no matter what genre they may be, come from people we’ve met, songs we’ve heard, art we’ve seen, or even other stories we’ve read. They come from our dreams, our nightmares, and our own memory banks. Whether it’s the photo on page 14 of the daily paper, that Beethoven sonata, a magazine article, or a couple we spot holding hands while strolling through WalMart, for the serious writer, inspiration comes in forms as varied as our stories.
How do we do it? For most of us, it’s nosiness (although I prefer the term, “natural curiosity”). We’re eavesdroppers, people watchers, and generally the spectators in a crowd. For us, ideas abound in the mundane and in the unusual. Your breakup conversation at Starbucks or embarrassing stumble in the ladies room could easily wind up in one of our stories. Ditto the news report about the man who faked his death or the person who wrote to an advice columnist about buying his wife a new vacuum cleaner when he won the lottery.
Beware: Don’t dare us to write about you. We probably already have. And if we haven’t written about you yet, the challenge is lure enough for us to set fingers to keyboard. In fact, I’ve acknowledged that my new release, A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN, is due to the guys in my local pizza place who requested a romance that took place in a pizzeria. You never know what you might say or do that will spark a writer’s creativity…
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes about writing, from author Douglas Adams: “The fact is that I don’t know where ideas come from, or even where to look for them. …but if fiction is your line, then the only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn’t collapse when you beat your head against it.”
