I recently did an interview for Ari on My Pen Her Whip and one of the questions was Where do you find the inspiration for your stories? That set me thinking, so here’s an expanded article on Looking For Inspiration and where I find it.
I’m a visual person so many of my erotic or downright naughty stories have sprung from a single image that sparks an idea. I’m using the word image here rather than photograph as it could be a painting or simply something, or someone I see. My original inspiration is usually for a vanilla or kinky sex story. The car wash was inspired by a single image that popped into my inbox from Pixaby.
The supernatural or horror elements I write about add themselves as the story develops. The Girl in the Green Dress was inspired by a girl walking down the road wearing, you guessed it, a very sexy green dress. so the image itself only existed in my mind. Release Me came from the photograph that illustrates it.
I have worked in the photographic industry and various people facing jobs for over forty years. I have developed a natural ability to visually observe people, to watch the way they walk, talk and how their expressions change.
In addition to being an observer, the second quality a good writer needs is the ability to listen. Everything from overheard fragments in coffee shops to lengthy conversations with friends can provide material for stories, phrases for characters to say or in some cases create whole characters or stories.
I also read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction. It is not plagiarism if another writer’s work stimulates an idea and you decide to run with it and create your own story.
Once an image, an overheard phrase or something you have read has sparked an idea the next stage is to cultivate it into a story that will appeal to your readers.