By I’m sure a lot of writers get repeatedly asked the question about where our inspiration comes from, how do story ideas start. I can’t answer for others, but for me they literally come from everywhere.
A snippet of overheard conversation, a random image, a song lyric, a picture can all feed my imagination. Even random words can be the catalyst for a poem or story.
I see almost everything like it’s a starting point, a place to begin a new journey or carry on with a journey I’m already on. I feel a need to create a story for things, like this fellow on this road in this picture.
There’s a reason he’s there. There’s a reason he’s walking and walking on this road. What’s behind him? What lies ahead? What kind of person is he? What does he want?
Lots more questions of course, but it starts me off and I immerse myself into the questions…
Theodore Dane walked out the door one morning in early spring, his hood pulled up, his hands in his pockets. The screen door slammed shut behind him and his worn sneakers scuffed along the gravel driveway as he walked to the quiet, two-lane country road that ran past the house where he had lived his whole life. There was nothing left holding him to the place but memories. He turned right and set off down the road. The hills rose in the distance and somewhere beyond them was a world that was still waking up, a world that he had only glimpsed through books and the rare treat of time to watch the television. A world he was ready to fall into, sink or swim.
I think provocative images provide some of the best story inspiration. I think maybe I’ll start posting a story image and original short story once a week. Have an image you’d like me to tell you a story about? Email me at natalie@nataliejcase.com.
Natalie J Case 