So…where does inspiration for a novel come from? As some of you probably know, it can come from anywhere. For my novels, it has come from a variety of places.
Novel #1 “The General’s Wife” (the Egypt one) – inspired by my interest in the Ptolemaic Period
Novel #2 “The Lady Bornekova” (the Czech one) – inspired by a trip to Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic (which I talked about in The Journey)
Novel #3 “Off to War” (the Civil War one) – inspired by my daydreams during middle school history class
Novel #4 not named (the last gold rush in Colorado one) – inspired by research…I wanted to write a story and put it in this time period and in a small town in Colorado; I researched for a small mining town in Colorado and this whole interesting story opened up to me…
Novel #5 “Trail of Fears” (the Trail of Tears one) – inspired by driving on a segment of road that is part of the original Trail of Tears, this led me to be curious about the Trail of Tears beyond the basic facts I remembered from that history class (that I was daydreaming novel #3 in). The more I read, the more I thought there’s a story here…
I know writers who are inspired by walking through an antique store or listening to music or any number of things. So, if you’re out there with the writing bug, but don’t know what to write about, try some of these things…listen to some instrumental music, walk through an antique market, visit a historical place (especially if you are interested in historical fiction)…I don’t really want to encourage you to daydream during history class…but take inspiration from life, from nature, from your own story. Just be inspired!