Goodreads asked Tom Pearson:

How do you get inspired to write?

Tom Pearson I tune into my dreams and have techniques for recording them as well as practices for catching those random thoughts that seem like such great ideas but come at the most inopportune moments, always when doing something else. So, I have practices that help me stop to listen and record and then other structures for going back and organizing later. I also gather a lot of information and inspiration by sifting ideas through multimedia and through iterative processes. I think it is vital to the work to leave it alone sometimes, to go away in the middle of working on something and then come back. And, of course, so much comes from collaborative relationships and working on art and performance with others. Now that this new book and film are out, I am also finding myself able to go back into a more relaxed period of intake, beautiful long hours spent reading other writers, seeing films and performances, listening to music, taking long walks, visiting places, communing with others and the deep conversations that come from these hours of leisure—especially because when I am working on something, I don’t look at or read other works. I tend to isolate then. So, now I am embracing the openness of this summer, where I get to go enjoy other people’s creative work.

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