How to Find Inspiration

So you have work to do. Maybe you have to write a story for school, maybe that’s your job; you’re and author, for whatever reason you have to write something. You sit at your desk, pen in hand. You find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper. You glance at the clock momentarily, then back to the blank paper. You’ve been sitting there for what seems like forever, yet you still haven’t come up with any creative ideas. There’s nothing to write about, you can’t think of anything. Everyone’s been in this situation before. So, when this happens, what are you supposed to do about it?

It’s taken me a very long time to develop this very complex plan, to create the magical map that guides me to inspiration. It’s been years in the making, and now, I am going to give it to you, asking for nothing in return. Whenever I am looking for inspiration, I go out to the coffee shop. If you don’t like coffee then just go to any public place, I guarantee that this will probably work.

If you choose a good place there will be lots of people around, who happen to be talking to other people. Just hang around them, and listen in on their conversations. Yes, be a creeper. You don’t have to stalk them, just try to understand what they’re talking about. Everyone has a story, but if you just go up to random people and ask for their life stories generally you won’t get a very good response. If you want to tap into the world’s supply of inspiration you’re going to have to be sneaky about it. It won’t always seem interesting to you, things like: Laura has been a very good babysitter, I’ll give you her number, and then you and Mark can finally go out alone. Even those kinds of things can have some interest; maybe said babysitter Laura wants to kidnap the kids? You can write a story about almost anything, and if you stick around long enough, if you listen to enough stories, you’ll hit gold eventually.

So call me a creep all you want, I’ve gotten lots of great ideas off listening to other people. Heartbreak and heroics alike, it’s been my favorite source of information. I’ve even gotten a few dates out of it from guys who thought I was interested (I do have reasons for choosing some of the people from the opposite gender to listen to). So go ahead, don’t be shy; try it out! Just remember if the people start to notice you then it’s probably best to run with what you’ve got and try again later. And even if you don’t really hear anything interesting, maybe the fresh air will help you think of something?