Monday, December 8, 2008

Yes, I'm Selfish

After posting yesterday and then reading everyone's comments today (again) with a happy sigh, it suddenly hit me. I am so selfish. I didn't even ask any of you where you draw your inspiration from. I just wrote and basically said, look at me and my inspiration, I'm the greatest, me, me, me. Now, I normally don't mind it when things are all about me (what am I saying, I never mind it when things are all about me), but then I thought ... I wonder where they get their inspiration from. So my question to you, in case I haven't made it abundantly clear up to this point, is ... well ... where do you draw your inspiration for whatever your interest is, writing, photography, poetry, etc? What inspires you to do what you do?

By the way, in case you haven't heard (I know, you already have) Nathan Bransford is holding a super cool contest where you can submit the first paragraph of your WIP. The prizes are fun, so get over there and do it. His link is on my sidebar under 'agents.'

10 comments:

  1. Yes, heaven forbid your blog be about you!

    He he he...

    I find I'm inspired by a lot of things. My newest WIP was inspired by Bond. James Bond. Mostly because it made me want to write some action scenes. And taa-daa! New book.

    So I guess I'm inspired by boredom and an overactive imagination.

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  2. Don't worry, Kiersten, I make it all about me in the comments section on other people's blogs too. :) And watch me spin your inspiration back to me. You see, in the fourth book of my series I decided to tackle action and I loved it. I haven't seen Bond yet, though, maybe I should. (how was that?)

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  3. You're too funny!! Where does my inspiration come from? Having a hard time with that one right now but I will let you know--but I think from past experiences.

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  4. I get inspiration from all around me - my own life experience, people watching, friends, music. I carry a small journal to jot down ideas when I'm away from my work.

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  5. Have you ever seen House? Love that show...and I kind work like that when it comes to inspiration.

    I'll just be talking with someone and joking around, or doing some menial task where my mind wanders, and then bam—it just hits me.

    Once that initial inspiration ignites, I stoke the fire with research and finding my MC. Then it usually takes off from there.

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  6. Terri, the past is a great answer. After all we all bring our pasts with us when we write, don't we?

    Joanne, it sounds like you're always in "writer mode" that's great. I need to start carrying a journal around. I guess it would only work if I left the house though, huh? :)

    Nat, have I ever seen House? Was that a real question? Have I ever seen House!? :) lol. Yes, love that show. He's like one of my favorite characters, which says a lot about my twisted nature. But, anyway, I could totally see that about you. With how many ideas your mind has generated, it seems that you can find inspiration in everyday conversations, so that makes complete sense.

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  7. Oo, I like your new blog template. I love redwood trees.

    As for Nathan's, hmmm . . . I'm not sure if I'm going to enter. Maybe.

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  8. Renee, welcome back. I love my new blog template too, it's all about my new book. :) And you should totally enter. It's good fun.

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  9. Lol I do that sometimes too. (To be honest, I think many of us writers get carried away with ourselves. Otherwise how could we be confident enough to think anyone else would want to reads our words?!)

    My inspiration... comes from a place that likes to hide. I don't know. Music. Back when I was in school, the most RANDOM things in lectures (even bio or chem lectures!) would spark something in me. Lately, I've had to dig deeper. But it's almost always where I don't expect it.

    (And those easy ideas? At least for me, they're never usually that good.)

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  10. Kristan,
    That's true, the ideas I've had to work the hardest for seem to be the ones that I love the most.

    And yes, it's important we have big egos because there are always critics out there and we need to make sure we have enough confidence to weather their reviews. :)

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