What Inspires Me?

The things that inspire me fall into three categories: people, situations, and other stories.

People:
Have you ever met a person who is so memorable so perfect in some way, any way, that you just have to write about them? Every half way descent story that I’ve written has started with at least one of these people. However, I have a thing about copying whole people into my books, so no matter how perfect they are I usually just use that one little thing. The one thing that makes them unforgettable: a look, the sound of their voice, an experience, a phrase… it can be anything. Just something that makes me think that if I can capture it just right and multiply it by infinity I can create something as real and unforgettable as the person who inspired it.

Situations:
As far as situations go it’s the normal things that inspire me. Missing the bus, learning to drive, or making someone laugh so hard they cry. There’s just something about those moments that makes me stop and wonder “what if…” What if she wasn’t human? What if He wasn’t human? What if it was a different time? What if it was a different place? Could a situation still be completely normal and mundane even if nothing else is?

Other Stories:
Saying this will probably make me sound life a hack, who knows maybe I am, but stories created by other people inspire me. Let me make one thing clear, I don’t mean books, movies, or TV shows written by other people. Yes, I find them interesting and I love reading/ watching them, but they’re the product of someone else’s ideas. Since I’m nothing if not an individual walking in someone else’s footsteps just doesn’t work for me. I prefer to put on my giant snow boots and clomp along next to them for a step or two before heading off in my own direction. No, one of my favorite things to do is to pick up a myth, short story, or a scene from a TV show, drop it in a completely different place or time, and proceed to rip it apart. It’s like a giant never ending Rubik’s cube, big fun.

-Aaron