IWSG February, 2020: Inspiration

Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?

This post was written for the Insecure Writer's Support Group monthly blogging event and brought to you by writer Alex J Cavanaugh.  Co-hosts for the  February are Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson! Please be sure to go visit and thank them. Click on the IWSG link (above) to sign up.

I get my ideas and inspiration from all over the place, from a phrase, a setting, interesting people but also photos. I'm an amateur photographer, but aren't we all--unless you're a professional. I see stories in photographs. 

Here are two accounts from the 5,622,431,299 (ha ha) instances where I became inspired by an idea. 

Recently, I had an idea for a short story regarding neighbors. We all know that neighbors impact our lives, good and bad. Between a character who hung out in my mind and an account on FB of terrible neighbors, I had an idea. This  story idea actually visited during an early morning hour of my sleep. I awoke, jotted it down and that day outlined the most of the story. It's one I am working on.  

The second example came from a photo, the first line competition at Writer's Digest. I love their prompts. Typically, their prompts are photos. Their competitions are either first lines with no more than 25 words or short fiction of 700 words. My entry was listed at #10 (last place) with this picture in 2013. My first-line entry was kind of silly, but I liked it and the readers voted for it. My learning styles are first visual and then physical (doing something myself). Photos are a story maker for me.  

What prompts you creatively? Where do you get your inspiration to create?


T.