I’ve found that many writers are similar in some aspects. One being that finding inspiration for a story sometimes means you get ideas for 3 or 4 stories instead of just one. But how and where do I get inspired? Come with me for a quick trip down the Inspiration Highway!

First stop – Calendars

Yep, it’s true. I’ve probably gotten more inspiration from a simple calendar hanging on the wall (or cut apart and filed in my file box) than I have anywhere else. At least seven of my published stories (and that does not include the individual stories in the three collections most of which belong in this category) were inspired by a calendar picture.

Second Stop – Real Life

When it comes to real life, six stories were either inspired completely by real life, or have a lot of the story inspired by real life.

Stop Number Three – Character Sketches

I wrote three character sketches for three names I had never used before and low and behold, I have 6 books because of that. I haven’t written a character sketch since.

Next Stop – Random Objects

Okay, this may seem totally random, but yes, I do get inspired by random objects at times. What sort of random objects? A small red truck used as a decoration at Christmas time. A Christmas platter, photos my best friend or someone else took, or a picture on Pixabay when I was trying to find a picture for something else, a puzzle. I think, if I counted right, random objects accounts for 5 of my published stories.

Stop Four – Pinterest

I don’t use it much anymore, but about 4 of my published stories came about because of an image on Pinterest.

Fifth Stop – Music

I am not usually inspired by music, but sometimes I am. To date, I think I have 4 stories that were inspired almost completely by music, or music and something else.

Stop Number Six – Accidental Covers

I blame an entire series on my accidental covers I designed for a blog post about covers. I have 4 published right now with #5 in the works and hopes for 3 more. (That should teach me not to design random covers!)

Another Stop – TV Shows

This doesn’t happen very often, but now and then an old TV show has inspired me to write a story. And when I say doesn’t happen often, it means I have 3 stories (one of which is not published yet) at least partly inspired by a TV show.

Eighth Stop – Ads

Yep, I’ll admit, two seconds of an add did inspire me to write one book. It was very odd, but it happened.

Final Stop – My Brain

I could have put this at the very beginning, but my brain is so general and broad that I didn’t want to start with it. However, I do randomly get ideas seemingly out of nowhere. It might just be a passing thought that I latch onto, it might be a character who comes from nowhere. Or perhaps it is one sentence from a dream.

And there you have it. A quick tour of where I get my inspiration.

What about you? I’d love to know where you find inspiration for your stories. If you are not a writer, which of my Inspiration Stops do you find the most unusual? Where do you think you would find inspiration?