I like this picture because it does show everything in one picture. The tools I use, laptop, tablet, and my phone. I don't know what I'd do without them lol.
Inspiration comes in many forms. People, places, things, actions, a memory......And they all inspire me to write stories. I've always been able to see things within objects. For instance, when you look at a floor made with dots and blobs. If you stare at them long enough, you begin to see things forming. I see faces a lot of the times lol. Once I saw a frog lol. It was funny because the person who painted the wall wasn't trying to make one. He had just thrown paint on the wall and used a sponge to create patterns. One pattern looked like a frog to me. Once I pointed it out, after laughing, everyone else saw it. Now it's the frog room lol. I haven't been back to that place in years but I can imagine people are still talking about it lol. I don't know if they still are but I'd like to think so.
Growing up really didn't change that about me. If anything, it made it stronger because now I know about it and sometimes I can control it. But I do enjoy getting lost in it because that's where the magic is. For me, anyway.
I remember one thing that happened when I was a kid. I don't know if I will still write the story that was born from it, but the memory has stayed with me. My dad had tried a new beer and put the can on the table, which made my mother mad because nothing went on the table except our food and it wasn't dinner time. I looked at the beer. When I saw Silver Bullet written on the can, the idea just popped into my head and I blurted out, "hey there's a new way to kill werewolves." My parents looked at me like I was dumb so I explained. Silver bullets kill werewolves, but if we put the silver bullet into something they drink, that could kill them too. I was just a kid, but the idea felt like a good thing for me. Of course, my mother shrugged it off like it wasn't a good idea but my dad had this look on his face that told me otherwise. He didn't say anything, but I knew. Even if it wasn't a good idea, it was a good story. I just didn't put it to words. I don't know why I didn't, but that memory stayed with me. I was working on a different story at the time, so maybe that was why.
In our adult minds, we can look at an idea and argue that it won't be good because we try to rationalize them. As writers, we can't do that. I mean, stories wouldn't be told if we listened to that part of our brains. A man who could fly--can't happen, but it made a great story. If the writer listened to his rationalization, it would never have been written. That's why inspiration is needed. It pushes us to look past what is real and what's not possible. It makes us believe anything is possible because it's true. Maybe only in our minds, but that's where the magic lives. We just have to be open to it. And I am. I hope you are too.
I received a newsletter and opened it on Monday. I read the story the author had written and how she used memory to create one of her characters. It was a sad memory, but it was enough to inspire her to write the story. My hope is that she was able to use her story to help her heal, and writing stories can have that purpose. It does work. She opened her mind and allowed to be inspired by a past event. Something inside her needed it. Maybe it was time for the healing. I don't know the exact story behind it because I wasn't there, only she was. And now her story can be shared and help others heal. It's a beautiful idea.
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It takes more than inspiration though. It does spark the light but it takes dedication and motivation to keep that light going. We have to want it. Possibly even need it. There are millions of people who are writers. Some will give up without even trying. My heart goes out to those people because I'm sure many of them have great stories inside of them. But they will never know because they gave up. Self-motivation keeps me going. I have this need inside me to prove that I can do it. It's strong enough to push through my failures because I know I can do it. The same can be true for others. There are some people who stop after one book. And there are some people who only write as a hobby. To me, it's not a hobby because this is my life. It's always been a big part of who I am. Again, this is true for many other writers. We are all different. The reasons for writing our stories are all different. And for each book, can have different reasons for them. But the drive must be the same. It has to push us to keep going. That's why we need motivation and dedication to write.
What drives you? What's your inspiration? Can you tell me how you motivate yourself to write? Leave comments below. I'd love to hear. Thank you!!