5 ways to fuel inspiration

On By Lorraine AmbersIn Novel Writing Tips and Inspiration

In this week’s post, I’ll be sharing the top 5 ways I find inspiration for my flash fiction, novels and short stories. So let’s dive straight in.

Inspiration butterflys Pexel-image

  1. Music is a huge source of inspiration. I make workout playlists that motivate me to move. I make playlist that my husband and I can reminisce over. Our kids hate it when we blast out old-school hip-hop. And I make playlists that resonate with my characters, their goals, hopes and fears. All types of music can ignite inspiration. Either from their lyrics or from the feelings the melodies evoke.
  2. Movies, T.V shows and novels. I admire well-written stories and while I don’t plagiarise their work, I do learn from them. The stories form or how they reveal plot and develop characters. Or my favourite thing is admiring how they pull of clever ploys, tracing back the foreshadowing and wishing my brain was that clever. There’s a lot of inspiration in curiosity and wonder.
  3. My own past. It’s not pretty; it’s downright brutal and traumatic. However, I have a treasure trove of experiences to pull upon. That in its self is my inspiration. I take something ugly and weave it into beautiful prose, to take my readers on an authentic journey.  Yes I did called my abuse a treasure, because I’m stronger for it. And I love myself for how far I’ve come.
  4. The world around me. Nothing beats a stroll on an empty beach, or sitting beside a river under the umbrella of trees. It revitalises my soul. And while I’m there I listen, touch, smell and try to describe those senses. Then I take all that recharged energy and ideas and place them in my stories. Voila!
  5. The people around me. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a script, a history and a set of beliefs. Sometimes, I imagine writing them as a character. I identify their goal, dreams, hopes and fears and false beliefs. I empathise with them. And yep, I use that as inspiration. Fear not friends, you’re not in my stories… yet! Ha-ha.

There you have it, a tiny glimpse into my take on the world. Tell me friends; do you use any of these to fuel your inspiration? Or perhaps you have another way. Don’t be shy, share it with me. You know I love hearing from you. Until next time, Much Love.

Author Lorraine Ambers - YA fantasy romance writer

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© Author Lorraine Ambers and http://www.lorraineambers.com, 2018.

 

 

41 thoughts on “5 ways to fuel inspiration”

  3. This was an incredible post Lorraine! I appreciate you sharing that works for you in your writing process. I find music is something that can help with most things. Personally if I did not have music in my ears at work, I do not see how I would get through the days!

    Liked by 2 people

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  5. Divine Grace Madali

    Wow! You made us see that we don’t need superficial sources of inspiration! 😍 I also use all of these 5, and actually they are all effective! Perhaps, because these 5 things you enumerated reflect the nature and deeper substance of humans and life.

    Good job, Lorraine Ambers!

    Liked by 2 people

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  6. Great post. I draw on most of these too. While I never listen to music while I write, I take a great deal of inspiration from listening to music, and always put on certain songs when I need to connect to my characters. 🙂

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  7. All writers “borrow” ideas. George Lucas took the Jedi Knights from the Japanese Samurai. His pod race in Phantom Menace came from the chariot race in Ben Hur. And the rolling boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark came from an old Ducktales comic.
    Shakespeare outright plagiarized Romeo and Juliet. But he wasn’t the first. Check out my blog on that topic. “Authors, Are You a Thief?”

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  8. I listen to certain music whenever I want to write a short story. One album, especially, always inspires me. It really has helped me in getting a story put together and finished.
    I also find that looking at photos help inspire me, as well as doing writing challenges and prompts set by other bloggers. Without those challenges and prompts, I would never have gone on to self-publish.

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      1. I don’t use Pinterest, Lorraine. Could never understand what it did, and it never bought me any traffic to my blog. I tend to look at photography blogs for inspiration or old photos from a shoe box, in the bottom of my wardrobe. They’ve helped me with getting inspiration.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. If an idea sticks I owe it to the characters to tell their story. I’m inspired by their back story and their adventures.

    Inspiration comes in all forms. It is a valuable tool for all of us and one not to be taken lightly.

    Thank you for this. Always enjoy your work.

    Liked by 2 people

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  14. Great post. Thanks for sharing. This will be a big help for the blog I recently started with a friend from thousands of miles away. Since we live in the opposite sides, we write different stories or perspective in a specific topic. We’ll definitely keep in mind the tips you shared. Thank you and more power.

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  15. Great post as always, it’s fun to learn what other people use to spark their imagination. 😀 I love using pictures, I can trawl through a picture site or just through Pinterest or Google images and a simple photo or drawing can trigger an idea or a concept or even just an emotion that blooms into something new. 🙂

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