Where Do You Get Inspiration For Your Stories? #WriterWednesday

One of the most common questions writers get asked is where we get inspiration for our books. First of all, writers, and all creatives really, have vivid imaginations. It doesn't always take much to inspire us to create. Sometimes a word or a picture can spark an idea that takes on a life of its own.

 

For example, a fellow writer shared a picture with me the other day and almost immediately a scene between two of my characters began forming in my head. Whether or not the scene will make it into a book is yet to be seen, but a simple picture prompted the question of what happens next.

 

The second novel in my Serpent's Kiss series, Longing for His Kiss, was inspired by a song. I was driving to a book conference, stuck in my car for hours, listening to the radio. A country song from Tim McGraw came on about a soldier who'd written a letter to his family. By the end of the son, not only did I have tears streaming down my face, but I also had the idea for a story. 

 

My Finding Anna series was inspired by a news story about a young woman who was rescued from sexual slavery. As I listened to the story, my first thought was that when the woman was ready for a relationship that it would take a lot of trust and communication after what she'd been through. At the time, I was reading a lot of BDSM fan fiction and the main requirement in a healthy BDSM relationship is trust and communication. That's all it took for my creativity to take off and Finding Anna was born.

 

Inspiration really can come from anywhere. It can come from pictures, songs, experiences, or a host of other things. Some of the best ideas come from the most unlikely places.

 

What inspires you?