Goodreads asked Erica Miles:

How do you get inspired to write?

Erica Miles Honestly, I like to get writing assignments, e.g., if I'm given a title. I really like structure and don't like to feel as if I'm floundering. Once, I attended a class at a library, and the teacher had written the following on the chalk board: The Rhythm of Despair. She told us to write a story on the spot in response. I thought of rhythm--dancing, walking, sexual energy--and its opposite: sexual repression. A lesson that had been drummed into me for years by some churches I attended. I thought of yearning for love and fulfillment, and the loneliness of having that stifled--and the sometimes psychotic rhythms that could lead to. I wrote impulsively about a psychotic experience I'd had in response to such influence. My teacher was caught off guard when I read my work aloud, and didn't know how to respond. Then she dismissed me, or rather, said something dismissive. Which ironically added to the rhythm of despair she'd suggested we write about. Fortunately, many writing teachers know how to create a safe space for students to honestly express themselves. And since writing is often a solitary experience, it's great to get the benefit of a class, a workshop, or some kind of community to share what you've written. It's great to bounce ideas off of other writers and receive affirmation and acceptance. All those lovely A words. But to get back to how to deal with criticism, once I was in a writers' group, where a woman made fun of something I'd written. I suffered over that for a while but finally saw the point to her criticism. I rewrote my scene completely, cutting and tightening, and making it much more dramatic. And I named one of my newly invented characters after the woman who'd been so hard on me, and referred to that character as my protagonist's best friend. It pays to be inventive. And sometimes you can learn more from criticism than from flattery. I still believe in feedback that can be diplomatic. But feedback is essential. No man is an island. Especially, not a writer.

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