Goodreads asked Lee Allen:

How do you get inspired to write?

Lee Allen I find inspiration in many places. My stories usually start with a scene, a plot element, a character or a theme that begins flourishing in my mind, usually linking with other ideas that have come to me in the same way. I may start taking notes and developing the idea on paper at this stage, or I may just keep it in my mind for the time being and see if it can lead somewhere.

I read a lot, both fiction and non-fiction - books, magazines, articles and more; I also love film, television, music. Perhaps I may hear a song and the lyrics or music spark something or speak of an emotion I want to write about. Or I may overhear a conversation and take one sentence and let my imagination work on it. Many of these things may never reach the page or go beyond something that danced in my mind today, but others will link with existing ideas or inspire new ones.

Ultimately, a wide range of fragments coalesce to the point where I feel I have the beginnings of a story that I feel impelled to write.

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