Where do you get your inspiration? What gives you ideas for topics?

I’ve gotten this question a handful of different times and I usually don’t answer it simply because I kind of don’t know?? I mean, to be truly honest, I STRUGGLE a LOT when it comes to writing topics because I feel like I’m always writing about the same 3 or 4 people and the same 2 or 3 themes.

I will say, though, inspiration is a fickle beast and it’s really important to learn how to write even when you don’t feel ~inspired~. Just the other day I was DRUDGING through writing things that I completely hated because I wanted to have something WRITTEN
and then suddenly I had an idea, and then I was writing a poem that I DID like.

I think it happens a lot that way–you have to get the muscles working before the really good stuff comes along, sometimes.