Where does inspiration come from? I think that question is one of the more important questions that writers can answer. I take a lot of inspiration from my personal life, books I’ve read, and past experiences. I also find inspiration from my dreams and other visual media.

I have crazy dreams that I remember very well. Often they are fun, sometimes they are scary, but they usually have some sort of idea hidden within them that I can use in a story. Even if I only use them as an example in a blog post. Last night, I dreamed I was at a High School graduation overnight party. I saw a lot of my hometown friends, and got to relive the feelings I felt in High School (I shudder). Someday, that feeling could be useful.

Pictures are also a great resource. I’m a visual person, and I love to look at pretty images. It’s one of the reasons I like Pinterest so much. For those not in the know, Pinterest is a social network designed to show off pictures found on the internet to people. Some of the boards can be a bit silly, there are a lot of great ideas though. I have a whole board devoted to Sci-fi book ideas. Feel free to check it out and see where my brain’s at.

The book I am working on right now, Ruby Three (until I come up with a real title) has a house that is a big part of the story. Ruby finds herself in Laurel Canyon, California, writing a screenplay for some friends. I really wanted to have the house set in my mind. I had a good idea of what it would look like, but I really wanted some reference photos. Enter Google! K.D. Lang happened to be selling her home in the Canyon, and it was perfect. Check this out.

That is the pool that I need! I made some adjustments to the layout of the house, and the way that guests would look over the pool, but . . . that’s what I get to do while writing. So, thank you K.D. Lang, for selling your home and providing me with the perfect inspiration for my third book. Thank you for being a fine musician.

Another good question is how to keep inspired when you’re writing. My favorite authors are of the opinion that you write every day, until it becomes habit and go from there. I happen to like this idea, but it can be hard to keep up. I’m most inspired when I have a goal or deadline. It makes me feel like I’m really accomplishing something instead of just doing it. I have used the NaNoWriMo site twice now to get a draft done. The last Camp NaNo ended on April 30, I clocked in with a little over 50,000 words for the month. It was a great start, now I have to finish the darn draft!

What am I going to do about it? I have a goal. My guys and I are going on a mini-vacation mid-May, and my new goal is to have the R3 draft done by then. If I get it done, I will feel fine about taking a few days off and getting into trouble with friends and family. If I don’t get it done, I’ll probably take my computer with me and hide from people. Which sounds like fun, but not as much as the making merry part.

What is your inspiration?

Thanks for reading, please share.