Top Ten Places To Find Inspiration

As a writer I’m always looking for inspiration.  That inspiration can come from many places, especially in this age of the internet.  Whether that inspiration is a favorite place to chill or an interesting article that gets your gears turning, everybody has one.  Here are my top ten:

• 10. Controversial blogs.  What I mean by controversial is something that completely disagrees with your beliefs.  Not often do I go to controversial blogs.  But when I do, it’s always an interesting experience.   Although other people’s beliefs frustrate me if I see a lack of common sense, they always help me strengthen my own beliefs.  In the moment of clarity I get from knowing exactly what I don’t believe, I can rant, I mean write, some of my greatest work.
• 9. Waiting rooms.  Sometimes you find that you have to wait quite a while in some public places.  While most people would get frustrated, I tend to listen to the conversations going on around me.  I always find it interesting that everybody has their own life that only select people are privy to.  By listening to their conversations, I can make up whole scenarios of what’s going on in their life.  Thus, I just found inspiration for a new short story.
• 8. Goodreads role play groups.  I have to admit that when I first found a group on Goodreads that said “role play,” I wondered if it was of the kinky variety.  But I was completely wrong.  These groups create whole worlds where someone can create and develop a character.  I love using these groups to find out how a new character would react to situations that I myself did not create.
• 7. Big Green Chair.  You know what I’m talking about;  that big comfy chair that you just love curling up in to read.  Well I like reading AND writing in my big comfy chair.  There’s just no better place, when my brain refuses to work, to get settled in and write gibberish until something good comes out.
• 6. Smashwords.  Smashwords is a great place for indie writers.  It is a free and easy way to get your work out there without editors or publishers telling you what to do.  You can also get free books from it.  Thus, I read other peoples works and get a feel for the quality indie writers are putting out there.
• 5. My bedroom.  My bedroom has all sorts of knick knacks I’ve gotten over the years.  Sometimes it’s just nice to sit and look around and remember all that’s happened.  Somewhere in those memories is a good story.
• 4. Movies.  Although I would never like to steal another’s idea, sometimes movies provide an idea for a new story.  I like taking several movies and fuse their ideas together to get a whole new story.  Sometimes it’s hard to do this without conforming, but it’s possible.
• 3. Books.  Books are always a great inspiration.  I go through the same method that I do for movies, fusing ideas until I get one great idea.
• 2. Dreams.  I’ve always had the weirdest, wildest dreams.  I would spend the next morning telling them to my parents.  They didn’t always liked it, though.  Eventually I started enlarging them as I tried to fall asleep at night.  Now my dreams are one of my favorite ways to get stories. 
• 1. My top favorite place to get inspiration is my own daydreams.  When I watch a movie, I try to think how I would react in the situation presented, or how I would like to act.  And it’s also a great way to act out situations that you want to happen in your life, or are afraid will happen.  A person’s imagination is always the best way to get inspiration. 

These are merely my own top ten places to find inspiration.  All of these places (or things) play a key part in my writing.  I believe that everyone should have places and things to inspire them to write.  Sometimes when you’re stuck in a rut and can’t seem to write, then any one of your top ten could help.  So happy writing!!

~Nicola Black