Anatomy of a Book: Where do Writers get Inspiration?

Rob Kennedy, a fellow Aussie author, recently asked a number of questions about the creativity of writers, and the “rationale” behind the creativity of writers, and my own creativity.

As an author, I find it a little difficult to explain why I’m a “creative type”, a writer.

But today, I discovered that anything can be taken as inspiration in writing, and as an author… Today, I’d done laundry, I’d started making my lunches for the week ahead, I’d vacuumed, I’d washed my hair… At about 4 o’clock, Violet, one of my cats, was a little whingey. She either wanted her raw meat, or some attention, So I took Violet for a little walk and locked myself out of my apartment! No keys, no phone, and my flatmate was out… meaning there was nobody inside the apartment to let me back in!

Violet is a bit of a nervous Nellie… she doesn’t like people she doesn’t really know. Leaving Violet at the door of my apartment, hoping none of the other residents of my section of the apartment complex would come in to scare Violet (or to let her out the front door!), I raced to the apartment complex’s manager’s office, hoping the night/weekend manager would be in to lend me the spare keys! And NO! The night/weekend manager WASN’T in! Luckily there was someone nearby, to lend me a phone to call the night/weekend manager. But the number on the front door wasn’t right!

I raced back to my building, hoping someone was in and would buzz me in the front door! Luckily someone was in, but they didn’t have the after–hours number for the night/weekend manager either! And their phone was charging, meaning they couldn’t help me in calling my flatmate!

A few minutes later, one of my other neighbours came home and was kind enough to let me borrow their phone, so I called my flatmate, and asked her to come home from the party she was at to let us in.

Then I realised I could somehow work this in to my current work–in–progress! Authors might write stuff that is fictional, but sometimes they work in stuff that happens in real life too!

Basically, life is what happens when you’re making other plans! Even for writers!