Imagination comes randomly, and so does inspiration. I could be staring at a plant and BOOM, I thought of a plot line or a new character that can help me explain my world or a dimension of my magical system. Around two days ago, I was watching water boil, and somehow, I came up with the idea on rising action for my other novel in the works TOI (The Orion Initiative). Another time I was taking a shower, and I thought of weapons and character arcs. To my dismay, I forgot to write the ideas down, only to remember about twenty-five percent of it. Now I have notebooks around the house to make sure such a thing does not happen to me again.
Humans are another source of inspiration for me. For instance, I love to sit down at a park and be the creepy guy observing others. In my defense, I do not have binoculars or a scary mustache, but I do carry a notebook and pen scribbling ideas on human interactions. I notice small things like parents act differently to other adults with no children and are a tad more hostile to other parents. In parks or playgrounds, children don’t care who they play with, while older folk yearn for more social interaction. You can tell which dog owner has control of their pet vs. one who thinks of their pet as a child of their own. All those small nuances add up in my mind and help me create profiles on who these strangers are. It helps me imagine how they act to a particular imaginary scenario; this inspires and allows me to create characters of my own.
Reading other authors also helps me broaden my imagination. As a child, my mother used to read me the first four Harry Potter books; they helped me grow to love books, to see how an author describes a setting sharing their mind and imagination with simple descriptors. Thanks to J.K Rowling, I began finding similar authors like Isabel Allende, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Daniel Handler, Rick Riordan, and more. Their words inspire me to work hard, to better myself, to aspire to be a writer in their caliber.
One day with hard work, insight, and a dash of luck, I will be standing my ground, inspiring others to become writers. For that, I need more practice, and the best way to practice is by writing. Call me a hopeful, optimistic, or delusional, but I know I can.
K.Rivera Author page 