James Dain
"Inspired" has many different meanings in the context of writing fiction.
It could mean, "motivated to write a certain story." The answer to that is that authors are always on the look out for material. I carry post-its and notebooks and when I hear an interesting tidbit I write it down. Could be something I read in the news, a story told by a friend, or an odd name like "Dusty Dustins." I stir the tidbits in my imagination and filter the results by certain criteria which I know are needed to make a good crime-genre story, like conflict and character.
But if "inspired" means what keeps my seat in the chair while I'm writing, I'm afraid I take the disappointing view that that's a matter of self-discipline. Being a writer means putting words on a page and fiddling with them, and a successful writer will make that a higher priority than, say, catching up on"Fix my Flip" or vacuuming the house.
Finally, though, I would be remiss not to point out that sometimes I get genuinely inspired by my material. Once I was writing a scene that took place in the pouring rain. When it was time to leave for my job, I put on my rain coat and grabbed my umbrella--only to discover that it was a bright and sunny day outside. I had so truly entered the world of my story that I literally failed to see the sunlight streaming onto my writing desk!
It could mean, "motivated to write a certain story." The answer to that is that authors are always on the look out for material. I carry post-its and notebooks and when I hear an interesting tidbit I write it down. Could be something I read in the news, a story told by a friend, or an odd name like "Dusty Dustins." I stir the tidbits in my imagination and filter the results by certain criteria which I know are needed to make a good crime-genre story, like conflict and character.
But if "inspired" means what keeps my seat in the chair while I'm writing, I'm afraid I take the disappointing view that that's a matter of self-discipline. Being a writer means putting words on a page and fiddling with them, and a successful writer will make that a higher priority than, say, catching up on"Fix my Flip" or vacuuming the house.
Finally, though, I would be remiss not to point out that sometimes I get genuinely inspired by my material. Once I was writing a scene that took place in the pouring rain. When it was time to leave for my job, I put on my rain coat and grabbed my umbrella--only to discover that it was a bright and sunny day outside. I had so truly entered the world of my story that I literally failed to see the sunlight streaming onto my writing desk!
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more