Inspiration!

People always ask me how I think up my stories. My sister Carmen (who I dedicated The Boyfriend of the Month Club to) finished reading it yesterday and proclaimed it a masterpiece. Okay, maybe not a masterpiece exactly, but she loved it. Said she laughed a lot and found it very romantic and satisfying. I was thrilled to hear it, because she's the type of person who always says what she means. Being her sister is not a free pass to a good review.

So back to my topic. In the course of the conversation she asked me how I came up with different plot twists, character actions, etc, etc...
I really didn't have a good answer for her except to say that "The story always seems to write itself." Which sounds like a bunch of boohooey, except that it's true.

Lately, I've been very interested in the creative process and how things come about. After some analysis of what works for me and what doesn't, I've come to the conclusion that I've heard many writers say and that's that the story is already inside you. It's just waiting to come out and if you let your creative juices flow, then it will happen. In the famous words of the Beatles, "Let it Be."

And when you let it be, it seems, inspiration comes from the heavens and gently taps you on the shoulder. The film Bull Durham inspired a great deal of my first book Bunco Babes Tell All. Memories of my childhood and growing up in Florida, inspired the backdrop of The Boyfriend of the Month Club.

And while I was taking a break yesterday from writing, I opened up some Yeats to read (poetry is the most awesome inspiration) and was suddenly given an important clue to one of my character's motivation. So there you go. And off I went. I love it when this happens!

Where do you find your inspiration?