Getting Inspired

by Christie Kelley

One question every writer gets asked is: Where do you get your inspiration for stories? I get ideas from everywhere…a story in the news, a movie that didn’t take a plot where I thought it should, or a walk in the park. It’s easy to find something that will inspire me to write a story but it takes more than just a quick thought to make it into a plot. That’s the hard part. So, I thought I’d share my favorite way to mull over a plot.

I spent yesterday painting the outdoor bar on our deck. Sorry I couldn’t post a picture but the camera battery needs to charge. I’m a little sore and still a little tired but I feel great. I got so much done! And I don’t mean just painting.

I know so many people who hate painting and part of me understands that. I truly hate the prep work involved in painting, the cleaning of the area, the taping, and putting down cloths. But once I finished the prep work, I spent four hours by myself, thinking about nothing. It’s amazing how productive my mind is when I’m doing something tedious.

After only a few minutes of painting, I had finally figured out the plot for the second book in a series I will be proposing to my editor soon. The whole book suddenly made sense. And the bar was getting painted too!

My husband’s theory on this is it’s the paint fumes. He might be right.

It’s interesting how the mind works (at least my mind). I can be sitting in front of my PC with a blank page in front of me and nothing comes to mind. But when I get my body working on something where I don’t have to think, suddenly the plots start come to me.

Of course, now I have a problem. My house is painted and I can’t think of a thing in it that needs paint. But I still have another book to plot!

Help me come up with mindless things that I can do to help me plot!

And for the writers, how do you plot for your synopses? For the readers, what do you do when you need inspiration for something?