It's all around us, apparently. So why can't I find any when I need it? A blank page can be exciting, it can also be challenging. But without inspiration its emptiness is damning. Which is where I'm at just now.
So I thought I would look back to see what inspired me to write past stories which have sold successfully.
My first to be published with The People's Friend was called 'Take a Break' - yes, I did sell a story with the title of a rival magazine. That was inspired by an 80 year old plate in my mother's china cabinet which is the sole survivor of an incident when as a child she accidentally pulled the kitchen cupboard over and smashed all the crockery, except for this one plate.
My husband's determination to complete Killer Sudoku puzzles was the trigger for 'The Numbers Game', bought by Woman's Weekly.
A family joke describing laundry as the 'joy of socks' led to a story which sold to Yours.
Another laundry inspired task came to me while ironing with an ear worm of 'Dashing away with a smoothing iron' repeating in my head. That was published by The Weekly News under the title 'Dashing Away'.
So, apparently I need to focus on destructive children, puzzle obsessives and housework.
Maybe I'll just have another cup of coffee and a biscuit while I think about this. Anybody have any ideas to spare?
31st January - the best inspiration is to write what you know. Which is what you'll find in my 75 word flash published on paragraphplanet.com (catch it today only - it will vanish at midnight).
ReplyDeleteBiscuits are a good subject – and tea. Don't think I've written one about coffee though.
ReplyDeleteI once used dunking biscuits as a story starter. Of course, I had to research that one very carefully - so many biscuits, each with different moisture absorbency rates.
Delete