While flying to British Columbia a couple of weeks ago, I heard this message over the intercom while sitting in the airport:
“Would the passenger who left their goldfish at security please return to pick it up immediately?”
If you’re not a writer of fiction, you should know:
This is exactly the kind of moment that novelists use to launch stories.
I’m not saying I’ll be using this particular bit of inspiration any time soon, but that day may come.
More importantly, you never know where the inspiration for a story, or any creative endeavor, might appear, which is why it’s so important to constantly, relentlessly be paying attention to the world and how it’s affecting you.
When I’m asked where I get my ideas for my novels (or even the stories I tell onstage about myself), which I am asked a lot, I say that I keep my ears and eyes open to the world.
I pay attention. I look and listen and allow the inputs of the universe to occupy my thoughts.
Of the six novels that I have published so far, four were born from a single sentence:
One was spoken by my friend, Justine Wolgemuth.
One was spoken by former colleague Lindsay Heyer.
The third was spoken by Elysha.
The fourth was spoken by an NPR news broadcaster.
Single sentences that launched entire books, some of which have been published in more than 25 counties around the world.
Inspiration for any creative endeavor oftentimes does not start within. It begins with something outside of us – an input from the universe – that lodges itself in our hearts and minds until an idea is finally born.
So pay attention. Look and listen. Hold onto those moments of meaning or amusement or emotion or novelty. Embrace the moments that catch your eye or your ear in an unusual or surprising way.
Will that TSA message about the goldfish ever give rise to a story I write or tell?
I’m not sure.
But I’ll allow it to continue rolling around in my mind because you just never know.
