Writing Inspiration

​Inspiration is everywhere.

I used to worry that if I read other books while writing I would lose my identity and sound like them. However, this is not the case, my writers fingerprint always comes through no matter who I read. I also find that listening to audio books inspires me. I often find myself in the morning pounding the treadmill listening to a book and then getting home with a burning desire to get my laptop out and write. 

Another venue for inspiration is film or TV. If I watch a good chick flick or drama I find myself reaching for my laptop. I fine inspiration for character building, and only the other day I was watching Criminal Minds, a far cry from chick flick. I was inspired by the relationship between Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan, the scriptwriters consistently and beautifully portray their friendship, in the same way a novelist would write their characters.

Every situation you encounter, good or bad is inspiration. Absorb it so that you can draw upon it for material.
Do you remember how you felt when you lost your first pet? Did you cry softly into your pillow so no one would see your pain, or did you sob uncontrollably with convulsing gut wrenches, willing for it not to be true. For Molly the little grey hamster to wake up! Every moment in your life is inspirational.
People you meet are raw material and they don’t even know it. Use them, watch their mannerisms and absorb them. The Nigerian lady who laughs loudly at the reception desk, do you notice how she clicks her tongue on the roof of her mouth when she is frustrated or angry? Or maybe your neighbour from upstairs, when the smell of spices drive’s you so insane that you storm up there to demand that he opens a window while cooking. Notice his friendly wide eyes and side to side head movements as he apologies fills you with guilt. That old lady from across the street that is always in the front garden, waving hello. Is the skin on her hands wrinkled like a prawn or starched like a grape? Dose she ask the same question twice because her mind is fading or is she sharp and witty, a twenty five year old trapped inside an aging body? People are inspirational, study them, and use them as a way of harnessing your inspiration.  
Writing is only one part of the process.
 
People tell me that writing sounds easy and that they could be a writer if they had the time. But that’s just it, it’s not the writing that makes it difficult, it’s harnessing the inspiration and keeping the momentum, it’s the commitment and the perseverance through our creative boundaries, and the mechanics of the process that makes it difficult. However, there’s nothing like holding that final proof copy of your book in your hands. That makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Good luck x

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