Inspiration or Imagination?

I am often asked how I come up with my stories. Did you read something that made you think of a plot? Visit a historical site? Watch a movie? Were you inspired while doing research? Don’t I wish I knew what my inspiration was or is and could conjure it up any old time! But I don’t and can’t. I’ve belonged to a writer’s group for years and we have often talked about when and where the beginnings of our novels come from. Some writers do find their inspiration in another book or movie, most often mentioning that there is a peripheral character that they connect with or are curious about and a story is born. That is not true for me.

I was driving home from work one day and had what I call one of my ‘mental movies’ playing in my head. There was a petite young woman, fashionably dressed in a pale yellow dress with a high neckline, lace collar and a matching short jacket. The back of the skirt was tiered, ruffled and each row was held in place by bows. She wore a small, yellow felt hat atop her blond, nearly white, hair. She had pale, smooth, cream colored skin, and fine delicate bone structure. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes gray blue. She placed a glove covered hand on the offered arm of the conductor and took one step down onto a busy train platform. He pointed to her leather trunks being stacked beside her. She looked around and saw cowboys in chaps and women in calico dresses holding children’s hands.

I got home that evening and through dinner and laundry and spelling lessons with one of my daughters, I kept seeing this young woman. I pictured her in a navy blue velvet formal dress with a high bustle and a lace bodice. She was at a dressing table attaching earrings and speaking to another woman. When the other woman left, the young woman took a key and opened a small drawer on the table. She pulled out a letter, unfolded it and read.

The following day or days I tried to name her and see her story. Who was she? What was in the letter? Why would a fashionably dressed, wealthy young woman travel alone to a mid-west town? I sat down at my computer to begin on the novel journey of this woman. Those first few minutes are both exciting and terrifying but as I described what I saw happening in my head, Julia Crawford began to take shape as the central character and eventually the heroine of Train Station Bride. As I wrote, Julia’s motivations became clear and her story followed. I don’t know what inspired her but I do know my characters feel very real to me. I hope they feel real to my readers.