Gleaning Inspiration

by Victoria Purdie

People often want to know where ideas for writing come from. The book shelves and magazine racks are full of writers who have had a flash of inspiration at some stage in their life and have turned it into something workable. This is actually a good place to start looking for your own inspiration. A book or magazine article can inspire you to create something of your own, or it can inspire you because it was so bad, and you think, "I can do better than that".

Ideas for my columns come from many places. When I’m vacuuming or mopping the floor, folding the washing or showering a bunch of children, my mind is able to relax a little and ideas can flow in. Sometimes it’s something one of my children does or says that is the basis for a column. Or it can be turned into an article or a children’s book with a little further thought and imagination on the subject. All you need to begin with is the initial inspired idea.

Some people find that they get their best ideas at night. This is usually when it’s quiet enough to think, and there is nobody placing demands on you to help them with this or that, or write an urgent memo for the staff. It’s your own time to be creative. My husband tends to get lots of ideas for me to write about, when he is in the shower. Some people sing in there, and other people think.

Looking at the ocean inspires some people. Watching the way the waves crash onto the beach or the seagulls overhead call to each other. And others find that a bit of physical work like mowing the lawn, weeding a garden, or taking a long walk can be what wakes up their mind and gets the creative juices flowing.

For a writer, an afternoon spent in a library or gazing at the racks of magazines in the shops is very rarely wasted time. Take a decent sized notebook and pen and make notes about books you see or books you don’t see. Look for gaps in the market where you could research or write from your own personal expertise and create a book that might just be what a publisher is waiting for. Have a look at the novels and their titles. Does something you see give you an idea for your own plot? Flick through magazines and see what others are writing about these days. Perhaps one article might give you an idea for an interview you could do on a colourful character you know.

A woman running her own unusual business, or a person you believe is worthy of being in print that people will want to know about. A whole biography or an article or two, or it might inspire you to consider writing your own autobiography. It doesn’t need to be completed i.e. you’ve reached the end of your life, just start and record your earliest memories while you can still remember them.

People themselves are often a good source of inspiration. Watching them at the airport or when out shopping. What are they doing? Where do you think they could be going? What’s in the bag they might be carrying? Who are they with? And then having conversations with people. Those you know and those you don’t. I once met a lady at the shopping centre, who gave me the basis for an article without even realizing it. She started off admiring my children, then launched into her life story telling me about her own children and grandchildren. I took the time to listen, and later at home I developed what she’d told me into an article, which turned out very well.

Run ideas past friends and loved ones. They can often be a good source of creativity and may give you an idea that you can get really excited about. Other times, people who know you are a writer, will suggest good topics for you to research and write about. They sometimes even offer to be interviewed for the story.

Children with vivid imaginations can also be inspiring. They have no limits on their stories, so by careful listening and sparking up conversations with your children or grandchildren, or friends' children, you can often come up with something workable.

Spending time daydreaming isn’t wasted time either. Find yourself a comfortable spot, perhaps with a view and then let your mind wander. Have a notebook and pen handy, because you will find that in a rush of ideas, if you don’t write them down, you will forget them pretty quickly. Have a look at the clouds, the wind in the trees, people going past, and children playing. I like to use a small tape recorder when I’m in one of my brainstorming modes. Then I transfer it down into an ideas book later. It’s quicker and especially helpful during the night when it’s dark.

Watching television, the evening news, and videos, going to plays, and movies can also be an unexpected source of inspiration. It may give you an idea for a novel, poem, article, short story, book, TV show, radio play or a stage production, which you could hand onto your children’s school or local church or theatre group to perform.

It’s good to train your brain to think of ideas wherever you are, whatever mundane task you are performing at the time. You never know when one of these crazy inspired ideas might be the one that changes your life, or someone else’s forever.

Victoria Purdie is a Freelance Writer, Author and Columnist and the mother of 3 young children. You can contact her by email or check out her website at http://boatwife.freeservers.com.

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