Unlocking Creativity: Where to Find Inspiration for Your Writing

Any writer, regardless of where they are on their journey towards publication, gets asked this question: how do you get your ideas for writing? It matters not what the writer writes. It matters not if they are school-aged or adult. The question is universal.

For me, my ideas come from life. For example, back in 2011 I spent a considerable amount of time in a hospice just before my father-in-law passed. As I sat there in the quiet, watching him breathe, a new story began to take shape. That nugget eventually morphed into my third novel, ULTIMATUM.

When story nuggets form, everything speeds up in my mind, and ideas take shape. Things begin to bounce off of each other. It's wild. I typically don't say anything out loud until I've worked out the major heartbeat of the story - the "why" of it. Once I hit that point, I tell my husband the idea, and it's then, when I'm talking about it out loud, that my characters form from the fog. Again, it's wild. Character traits are born, right there on the fly.

My process goes on from there. But that's not the reason for this post. I want to go back to the "getting ideas part" because that's clearly a crucial part of the process.

Life. When you boil it down, that's where all writing ideas materialize.

Back in 2005 I had the privilege of being in the audience while the one and only James Howe presented on the craft of writing. While he shared many wisdoms, the one that resonated was how he carried a small notepad with him at all times, to capture life as it happened - for future writing.

My physical notepads and scribbled on sticky notes are slowly becoming a thing of my past. Now I voice-to-text interesting scenarios, names I like, fascinating things I overhear, and rando ideas into the Notes app on my phone. I've been capturing life as a writer for the past 21 years thanks to Mr. Howe.

Once I looked at life through "writer glasses" everything shifted, and I realized story ideas were everywhere. When you think like a writer, listen and see like a writer, new ideas abound.

Creativity unlocked.

Where do you get your ideas for new writing projects?