FINDING INSPIRATION IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

By Judith Keim

Writers are the worst eavesdroppers, the worst snoops! Why? Because, if we pay attention, there are stories all around us. It can be as simple as overhearing someone say, “Well, I finally got that done!” Wow! There are a million stories in that one sentence. Who? What? Where? Why? And if someone responds to that remark, there’s another whole set of questions to prompt ideas.

I think most authors rely on a natural curiosity about other people and their lives to create characters who ring true. I write stories on the sweet side, stories with happy endings. I love doing this because I’m generally optimistic about life and, and as a rule, like, even love, most people—their quirks, their hopes, their dreams. We all have them.  

In addition to observing and hearing people around us, we can find inspiration for stories and characters in newspapers. Articles both positive and negative can prompt an idea or a “what-if” situation. Television is another easy source of inspiration for a story, along with social media

of any kind. We’re bombarded daily with information. Sometimes, all it takes is reading or hearing something that catches your attention and creates an opportunity for character or story development. 

Depending upon your own experiences or what genre you write in, reactions to different situations will vary. Those filters can be amusing. A writer friend writes thriller/mystery books. We can look at the same setting, and where I see something sweet, she’s thinking of the dangers and how to escape. 

There are a lot of places to find ideas for stories. But what if you’re stuck and need to find inspiration to keep going? Some writers listen to music, some meditate. I like to be near water. Often, I stand in the shower or soak in the tub, let my mind wander, and come up with a few surprising twists and turns for my characters. 

Writers groups are very important for inspiration. The book business is tough, requiring long hours of working alone on a project that has its moments of easy writing and other times of torturous struggle to get things right. Nowhere else have I found people more willing to help others. At a weekly coffee group I attend, we discuss everything from book covers to plotting to marketing, all in an effort to help one another. As someone once said to me, we aren’t really in competition with one another because there is such a huge need for books, and each book is different. I think that’s mostly true. One needs to be aware of competitive situations, but it doesn’t mean that you take away from anyone else’s success. Pretty unusual in any other business.

Even though the topic suggests unusual places in which to find inspiration, I believe inspiration is derived from the places and people around you, what you see, and what you hear. By soaking all of it in, you are able then to store it inside to use in later writing. 

The most unusual place from which we get inspiration lies within our own selves. How we view the world, what has injured or inspired us, what emotions and memories we bring to the blank page as we write our stories. We can, I suppose, ask those same questions of us – Who, What, When, Why? How we live our lives, with whom, where, and why are all unexpected places in our minds for inspiration that make our stories uniquely ours. 

Some critics have said of books in an individual genre that all the stories are the same, that only the names of the characters change. I adamantly disagree. We all bring unique experiences to our stories, making them very different. Each character comes from a part of us and the world around us and how we see that world—real or otherwise. 

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A hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes, Ms. Keim writes heart-warming novels about women who face unexpected challenges, meet them with strength, and find love and happiness along the way. Her best-selling books are based, in part, on many of the places she’s lived or visited and on the interesting people she’s met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many loyal readers love. Ms. Keim loves to hear from her readers and appreciates their enthusiasm for her stories.

Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/judithkeim

Find out more about her on her website https://judithkeim.com/

HOME AT LAST, Judith Keim

Louise “Lulu” Kingsley is thrilled to discover after years of wishing for a sibling, Cami Chandler is her half-sister. When Cami invites her to live with her at Chandler Hill, Lulu jumps at the chance to leave behind all the heartache in her recent life.

Not the spoiled little rich girl the media would like everyone to think, Lulu digs into marketing for the inn and winery, feeling more comfortable there than she ever did in California with her political father. Better yet, her mother is becoming a stronger, happier person and shares the idea of becoming part of a new family.

Even though Lulu is aware that Miguel Lopez is the kind of guy who represents everything she’s trying to forget, she’s attracted to him.

Following a heartbreaking situation, she steps away from their relationship. Lulu settles in at Chandler Hill, coping the best way she knows—by working hard.

But when Cami’s beloved grandfather, Rafe, has a stroke, Lulu realizes life is short and knows she must make things right with Miguel, and learns that home is where your heart leads you.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

Coming Home

Camilla “Cami” Chandler comes home from France to take over the Chandler Hill Inn and Winery for her recently-deceased grandmother, Lettie, as she’d always promised. Determined to succeed in this new venture, she finds herself in trouble from the beginning when she discovers most of her grandmother’s estate intended for maintaining the inn’s business expenses was lost in a Ponzi scheme.

She forges ahead to provide her guests with wonderful experiences and to produce the best wines in Willamette Valley. After being ditched by her French boyfriend, she decides that being friends with Drew Farley is the safest way to proceed. He loves grape growing and winemaking as much as she does and isn’t looking for anything beyond friendship.

When a bride planning a wedding at the inn tells Cami that she looks exactly like her best friend, life becomes even more complicated. Never having known even the name of her father, Cami searches for a connection and comes to realize how complicated love and family can be.

 

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips