You are an author.  You are about to sit down and begin to write a story.

How do you get started?  What will it be about?  Where do you get your ideas from?

As the author of eight novels and eight short stories*, I work hard to find ideas.  Here are my four sources of inspiration, and one non-source:

(i) my best source of inspiration is random ideas which pop into my head – when I am reading, walking down the street, in the shower, whatever.  These ideas have one thing in common.  I write them down.  Everyone has great ideas, all the time.  What makes a difference is keeping a note of them.  Maybe you are a genius and can remember good ideas indefinitely.  I can’t.  As soon as my mind wanders off – as it will – I forget my good idea.  Action point for writers: make a note when an idea strikes you and ensure you can find that note later.  Keep a notebook or web page where you store your ideas;

Some things are obviously inspirational.  This deserted children’s bumper car ride near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is crying out for a story

(ii) my second big source of ideas is external inputs.  If you read the piece about my hotel stories at the link above, (more…)