REAL WORLD INSPIRATION

            As writers, we observe. This can be from the actions of certain people, to everyday events and especially unusual events. Anything and everything could be the key to a scene in your story.

UNUSUAL/RARE EVENTS

            These can be anything from a disaster to someone getting married. In my case, as soon as I heard a hurricane may be hitting Southern California, which would in turn bring possible rain to my home in Las Vegas, well…if it really happens (it did), I hope it does no damage and everyone ends up safe. The media builds it up, of course, as in “if it bleeds it leads.” Since it portends potential disaster, I hope the media is let down with just a whimper of a storm. As it turned out, it was bad in some places, but at my house, the ground barely got wet and there was one random gust of wind. Then again, as a writer, disaster and extremes make for great story fodder whether directly experienced or seen from afar. Just the potential is good enough, especially if nothing comes to pass. In stories, well…inspiration for mayhem ensues.

CRIME

            There’s no shortage of crime to choose from, and plenty of inspiration can come from real-world events from your hometown to worldwide. Crime is so rampant you can look just about anywhere and find it. The more creative inspirations come from the weird and unusual crimes, and to me, especially ones that fail. Stupid is, stupid does, right? Great fodder for inspiration.

FINANCIAL

            It doesn’t take much of a stretch to find financial events, from good to extremely bad. It’s in the news every day. Does your character/s suffer from some extremely bad financial event? Fodder for your pages.

ENTERTAINMENT

            While many writers use it, as a new writer, you may not think of entertainment as an inspiration, but yeah, there’s plenty there. From a successful movie to a musical disaster. How many of you manage to plug your favorite (or even not so favorite) bands, movies, TV in your stories. There’s no shortage of real-world inspiration in entertainment.

TRIPS

            Trips (and I don’t mean the LSD kind!), can be great real-world inspiration. From a family vacation to an exotic place where nothing out of the ordinary happens, to a complete disaster. Any and all provide great fodder for your stories. I often get inspiration from Disneyland, for example, or a recent trip to San Francisco, or this May to Madrid, Spain. I can add those to my list. How about you?

FAMILY

            For most everyone, family provides plenty of drama as well as good times. How many of you incorporate this into your characters? Where do you think we writers get background and character development from?

HOME

            It doesn’t take much to find inspiration in home. Whether it be a needed roof replacement, to a fire, earthquake, flood, or just sitting around watching TV. There’s no shortage of things to use in your story.

WORK

            While you should, of course, make sure you don’t reflect something negative about your personal job (unless it’s in a previous one), there are plenty of ways to adapt work situations into something in your story. From spats between employees, to accidents, to the drudgery, there’s plenty to choose from.

HEALTH

            Some writers incorporate real-world health issues, whether their own, family or someone they know into their characters or plot. People get sick, and inspiration is not hard to find.

SUMMARY

            I could go on and on with my list but you should get the gist of it. Real-world is the fodder for inspiration in countless ways.

            Use that to your advantage.

            Happy writing!