Unorthodox Sources of Inspiration

[Xixax]

I had an odd thing happen to me today. It was really inspiring.

I'm a pretty normal, domesticated guy. Family, minivan, mortgage, work... The daily grind. My life is surrounded by familiar faces and contentment.

I have the ability to pull story ideas from that which I am familiar... These include my past, family history, and other familiar settings.

But this morning, something interesting happened.

I was at church, sitting in the back working on the computer as a member of the production crew like I do most sundays, and I noticed a lady I had never seen before.

Her look wasn't particularly striking or exotic. She was moderately attractive, but there was something about her "look" that was really telling. I looked at her for a moment from across the room, and it was like I immediately had a completely scripted character based on her look in my mind. I couldn't hear her voice. I couldn't even see her entire face. But it was like as soon as I saw her, I had a really complex character for her in my mind. As my mind continued to wander (it was between services so I didn't miss any cues), within minutes I had an idea for a story involving her and her circle of friends.

It really struck me as interesting because sometimes when I want to exercise my mind and write something - anything - sometimes it's like pulling teeth. I'll sit here in front of a blank screen and daze into space trying to think of something imaginative. Yet within moments of seeing this lady's face I had half her life story written in my head.

This leads me to ask the others here... Have you ever experienced anything like this. And if so, what are some of your favorite methods of seeking inspiration?

After today's episode, I was tempted to sit in a public place for a few hours with a notepad and a non-flash digital camera and just watch people and snap quick photos of them for this type of inspiration.

I've heard other writers say that they had favorite places to retreat to and write. Mark Borchardt mentioned that he liked to write in an old RV parked in his parents driveway and at a commuter airstrip watching prop planes take off and land.

Do any of you have similar places or forms of inspiration?

[sphinx]

dreams are excellent at conjuring up random shit.  i suggest you write down your dreams and write about situations you encounter in them.  watching people in public is also good.  especially confrontations---i once saw a heated five minute argument between a drunken passenger and the bus driver who refused to give him change for his $10 bill (he ended up throwing his drink at the bus as it drove away) that would have been amazing to transcribe to film.  it's hard to write confrontations unless you've seen one or been in one, and even then, it's really hard.

[The Silver Bullet]

I borrow directly from life. Conversations, people, names, dates, the way in which events unfold [the way that the brother of my lead character in my new screenplay Beautiful Story is discovered dead is the same way my grandfather was found dead, for example].

The mundane is my inspiration. Because there is really nothing ordinary about our lives. If I throw the ordinary things that happen to us everyday together in great detail, I find that I emerge with a vivid story about average people that is anything but average.

[Ghostboy]

Yeah, what everyone else said. Dreams, watching people...it's all such a valuable resource. Sometimes I'll see someone, like Xixax said, and an entire story will emerge. It's a beautiful thing.

[Pubrick]

dreams and chicks. inspiration is easy..

on the flipside tho, what's been bugging me lately are things that inexplicably get me down. like i'm all chill and then---  most recent example: i'd just fed my cat, i turned on the tv to see what movies were on, and i caught the end credits of Smokey and the Bandit II. it's all outtakes with ppl fucking up their lines.. i don't know why but i was sad for a whole day after.

ur a dentist, can u help me..

[BrainSushi]

I definitely borrow from real life. Whatever I write, on the whole, often seems somewhat bizarre, but names, and small details are always taken from real people and situations.

I'm surrounded by pretty odd people, so it makes for a good ol' "schmorgas board" of interesting characters.

[©brad]

whenever im writing something i like to go out at night a lot. writing can be an incredibly lonely, frustrating thing. i think its good to go out and drink and socialize, you may hear someone say something that's perfect for a certain scene or u hear good music that gets ur brain cooking. it works for me.

[The Silver Bullet]

I'm surrounded by pretty odd people, so it makes for a good ol' "schmorgas board" of interesting characters.

That is an excellent way to describe it. If you look hard enough at the amount of trivial crap going on in our lives, you realise that you have an utter schmorgas board of possibilities at your disposal.