Writers can’t live in a vacuum. Those stories of people who are hermits that live in seclusion and write these amazing literary novels? Okay, Really? Because I only have a select amount of ideas in my brain, and after I use those up, I gotta go somewhere for inspiration. Somewhere besides my messy office, or living room sofa. Some people accuse me of being way too busy, but hey – here’s some of the tidbits I get from my “other life” that help me in my writing.
• The Lives of my Children – I love listening to the drama my 15 year old brings home, or the gitty life of my teenage football player as he tells me about team dynamics. Hearing my kids talk about their dreams or their challenges helps me tap into current issues and find relevant themes.
• Church Life – oh, don’t get me started! The theater of worshipping and ministering alongside people with different bents, backstory and needs always produces good characterization. And spiritual threads.
• Community Events. My children are involved in the local community theater, and the drama behind the scenes is more entertaining than the show! (okay, almost). I especially love, however, listening to the director teach ten year olds how to get into character. Watching them take her lessons and transform into different people before my eyes helps me turn my cardboard characters into living beings.
• My Backyard. I live in the very very tip of Northern MN, where we’ve already lost many of the leaves of our surrounding forest, where my plants have already withered into a brown soggy lump, where winter is in the breathe of the wind. I got out for a walk every day — smelling the leaves, hearing them crunch, feeling the nip on my nose…fall is so rife with the five senses, I’m inspired anew to seek out ways to put texture and setting into my story.
• TV Premier Week – Okay, I know you’re all thinking…WHAT? Isn’t that an inside, couch potato kind of thing to do? Well, it’s either that, or sitting at the local coffee shop eavesdropping. There’s no such thing as a new idea, but seeing the out of the box crazy story ideas presented on television shows perks my little curiosity bug. From this weeks’ House premier (LOVE the kidnapped guitar!) to the twist at the end of Journeyman, it’s creative television that makes me think outside the box for plotting. (And ever so much better than tuning into gossip about my neighbors!)
All these things fill up my brain with fresh, new thoughts, and give me a storehouse of ideas to draw from. If you want to write…then first, you must live.
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