Where to find inspiration to write (blog marathon post 24)

Many people ask me this question 'Where do you find inspiration for your stories and writings?'
I wish I could tell them exactly where. There is no one correct answer here.
The truth is I can find inspiration, anywhere, anytime! My mind is a busy place.
There was this one time, when I found inspiration in a dead leaf and wrote a poem on it.

You can read that poem here.

When my children were little I was always making up stories and narrating it to them, whenever we had exhausted our supply of books to read. And I read to them every single day! But sometimes, we would be driving, or it would be snowing outside( we used to live in the UK) and we wouldn't be able to go to the library. Then I would make up stories and tell it to  them. I would let them create the characters. I would ask them 'Whose story do you want to hear today? Give me a name'. They would give me a name. Then I would ask more details about this 'person'. When I had a character, I would start telling them a story. My children were always spellbound.

When I read the morning newspaper,  so many ideas strike me.
When I walk in the mall, I am making up stories about people inside my head. I am observing people. If I passed you in a street, and if something about you, struck me as interesting, I would probably be able to describe you to the very last detail, including the shoes you wore. I am very observant by nature. I think a LOT!

At airports, railway stations etc, I am always observing people. I am silently eavesdropping on their conversations. (and we Indians are usually loud, like the Italians).
Sometimes, people share bits of their lives with me. That strikes me as interesting and I spin a story about them.

I get my best ideas when I am flying. It is a strange feeling to be cut off from everyone of earth, and till you land, you are suspended in a state of 'nowhereness'. I like that. I love closing my eyes and thinking.

Sometimes something unusual happens to me, and I find my material right there. Sometimes, Mostly when I am walking my dog, I have all the time in the world to ponder and think. I get story ideas there.

That's it really! That is my 'secret'. I spend time with myself, inside my head, and that is where I find my ideas.
I think it is important to spend time alone. At least for me, it is.

The next time someone asks me where I find inspiration, I am going to direct them to this post.
And for all of you who ask me where to find inspiration, I hope this helps!
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