Notes on Inspiration

          Inspiration is what makes you write; what gives you your ideas. Inspiration is all of things you have seen, heard, smelled, touched, tasted. Inspiration is your memories and ideas, all of your thoughts and knowledge. It is that "random word of the gods," as L.M. Montgomery put it in Emily Climbs. It is your motivation, your stream of consciousness, and that little voice that says, "Not good enough. More action. More description." It is the flow of your words on paper. Verlyn Klinkenborg (weird name, I know) says that inspiration doesn't exist, that there is no such thing as flow, that writing is a jerky motion. I disagree. (Though Several Short Sentences on Writing is an excellent book.) Inspiration is all your experiences as one, molded into story form and put on paper.
           But inspiration doesn't always come easily. If you need help getting inspiration, here are some ideas:

• One of my good friends had an excellent idea, which she put in a TED Talk she recently did: Take any object you see, like a rock, and make it part of your story. What if that rock were at the edge of a lake, and your character trips on the rock and falls into the lake?
• The color blue is supposed to stimulate creativity. The color red is supposed to bring one's heart-rate up. Try wearing one of these or another color you like to get the juices flowing.
• I have noticed two times when I feel really creative: At night when I should be sleeping, and in the shower. Keep a small notebook nearby at all times to record your best ideas.
• So far, two of the books I am writing have been inspired by dreams I've had. (I know that sounds super hippy, but it's true.) Keep a flashlight nearby at night so you can track down writing supplies.
• What have you been reading lately? Would you like to write something like it? Or do you have a certain genre in mind? Try reading something similar to what you want to write. Take a few ideas but beware plagiarism. 
• Sit down with lined notebook paper in front of you and doodle title possibilities, maybe some chapter headings, perhaps an outline. What comes up? 
• Last but not least, be your character. Wear their style of clothes, do their favorite activities. How are they different from you? How are they alike? Do any bits of their personality collide, making them dysfunctional? Pretending to be your character makes them more real to you, and in turn makes them easier to write about.

          Now that you have some ideas, the final overruling advice: just write. Even if you have nothing to write about, it's better than writer's block setting in.