Goodreads asked Paul Colt:

How do you get inspired to write?

Paul Colt Let's take this question today because it builds on the question from yesterday about where did I get the idea for my latest book. The thing that really gets me going as a writer is a great story. The ideas for those stories come from a wide variety of sources, most often by some accidental discovery. The big stories- Grasshoppers in Summer, Boots and Saddles, A Question of Bounty- are historical dramatizations. They are little known or overlooked stories that need to be told. They inspire me. They don't come along every day either. When I'm not heads-down in one of those, I write fictional stories that have an historical spine. In those books the inspiration comes from the history and the story comes from the characters. When I get excited about a character, I need to know that character. I try to let the character write his or her story. When they take over, I get the story I'm after. Hope that answers your question.

flag