Where do I come up with the ideas for my stories? Hmm… That is a very good question, and I have a simple answer: life. That’s it. Life – my family, the people I have met, the places I have been, my career, the books I have read; a funny thing my dog did yesterday; a funny thing my other half did yesterday; memories – good or bad… Everything that has occurred in my life has given me more than enough fodder for the stories I write.
When people tell me that they have a story in them, and then they don’t sit down and write it, I wonder for just a moment what they are waiting for – and why aren’t they doing it. Well, that’s also a good question, and there is a simple answer: life.
Finding inspiration isn’t the hard part for me. Ideas pop into my head all of the time. I have conversations with my characters – and I write their dialogue in my head when I’m doing housework, falling asleep, walking through the grocery store – my brain does not stop. I dream about Creekwood and my characters often. It’s carving out the time – undistracted time when work, dogs, Big Dawg, laundry, gardening, and other commitments aren’t clouding the creative space in my brain. Plus, keeping a social media presence alive takes a considerable about of time. Creating content and finding content to post every day to Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms is a time intensive exercise. It’s fun – but it takes time out from writing.
Once I do sit down, and settle into writing, time disappears. Hours pass – words turn into sentences – sentences turn into paragraphs – paragraphs turn into chapters – chapters turn into a terrible first draft. That terrible first though… That terrible first draft is then molded into a second draft, and then a final draft. What many people don’t understand is that before a book hits the shelves, thousands of hours of research, writing, proofreading, editing, and design have been spent getting the story onto the shelves.
When I do sit down and write – when I do carve out time for my favorite creative endeavor – I create a whole new world for readers to explore. That’s also part of the inspiration – writing stories that people love makes it worthwhile. Knowing that someone has picked up my book, and that they have appreciated my words, and the world I have created – well, that’s inspiration in itself.
If you’ve read Divine Guidance or Torn Veil, drop a review on my website. I would love to your hear from you.
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