500 Sources of Writing Inspiration

Do you need some new sources of writing inspiration? When I first started to write this blog post, I sure as hell did.

But did I really need 500 of them? Well, maybe we can just say that things got a little out of hand.

Okay, a lot out of hand. So be it.

My Sources of Writing Inspiration May Not be the Same as Yours

And that is… okay.

In fact, it is a lot more than okay. It is downright necessary. For, you see, there is a difference between you and me, gentle reader. And the dissimilarities between us that translate into different stories should also translate into new and different forms of inspiration.

Do You Have to Have Actual Writer’s Block to Use These?

Of course not! And now, on with the list.

1 – 100 Inspirational Nuggets

So, let us start with something that may sound a little bit off-beat.

The English alphabet has, of course, 26 letters. But let’s nix X for the moment. Er, sorry, not sorry, Elon Musk.

Find four words for each of the remaining 25 letters.

But not just any four words. Oh, no. I want you to find four words which have multiple meanings. The weirder and more out-there the different meanings are, the better.

Behold, an Example!

Here is a totally free example for the letter G. The word is, ta da!

Grind.

Er, what?

This word has tons of meanings. When it is a verb used with an object, one such meaning is to crush. When it is a noun, one such meaning is the rat race.

And when used as a verb without an object, it can mean a kind of burlesque or dirty dancing.

Keep in mind, too, these are not the only definitions. And, there are even more variants when you look at variations of this word, such as ground or grinder.

How to Use these Sources of Inspiration

Use any of your hundred words (or their variations) as part or all of the title of a short story. And then just write whatever you feel. And if you do not like grind, then pick sit, or apply, or bit, or any other word you come across which fits the criteria.

101 – 200 Inspirational Bits

Now, what happens if and when you run out of your hundred words?

Time for a remix or hundred!

Here, you can use your hundred words or use a short story or novel or universe you have already created or are in the process of creating.

And, much like rap in the 1990s, sample one within the other.

Another Example

When it comes to universes, probably my best-realized one is the one for the Obolonks. So, we can grab, say, Peri and Charlie and toss the word grind into the mix.

For a pair of near-future cops who are on-again, off-again, as is his marriage, the dirty dancing definition will fill our requirements nicely.

Maybe they go on a stakeout and get in some recreational dancing on the side. Or maybe they embarrass everyone at the holiday party with their antics. Bonus points if his wife is there. And maybe more bonus points if his kids are there, too, or her boyfriend is.

Would this short story ever see the light of day? Not necessarily. It could, though, become a scene to slip into a larger storyline. Or a memory. Or it could be a one-off.

It is the sort of thing that could potentially become a giveaway for subscribers.

201 — 300 Inspo Morsels

Now, we are not going to use those hundred words again. But this time, we will be doing…

wait for it..

Crossover Mania!

Okay, okay, I will provide another example.

Crossover Mania Example

Here is where having a number of characters universes, and situations can come in very handy. But in a moment, I will explain how to get around that if you, personally, do not.

The Obolonks are in a strong, well-developed universe. But Ceilidh O’Malley, from the Real Hub Universe, is a beloved character. And the plot of Mettle, where everything goes to hell in a handcart when the elements of the periodic table start to disappear?

It is a pretty nifty plot, if I do say so myself. But what happens if I combine them?

Since Ceilidh is from the 1880s, I could go to town on the fish out of water aspect as I throw her into more like the 2080s. Or I could ignore that and make her a regular part of that time frame but without losing her personality.

Another idea would be to pull the Obolonk universe into Ceilidh’s time period, where we would have a tripartite (humans, robots, and aliens) society but during the time of Queen Victoria and President Garfield.

Either way, how would people like her cope as the world starts to become less and less familiar?

But What if I Do Not Have That Many Variables to Choose From?

That is totally cool. Just pull from real life. Or from well-known stories.

I am not suggesting committing plagiarism or copyright theft. Rather, I am saying to lift up an aspect of a story and teleport it somewhere else.

Maybe your next-door neighbor and her cat, Freckles, go to El Salvador and end up having to follow the Yellow Brick Road to get home again.

Change a few names and identifying characteristics, and you might just have something there. Can you come up with 100 of these? How many books, films, people, and situations are there?

In short, if you apply yourself to it, you sure as hell will.

301 — 400 Sources of Writing Inspiration (Scintillas of Spark)

Now we will go back to our hundred words.

This time, I want you to remix somewhere between three and seven of them into sentences.

These do not have to be terribly believable sentences. But they need to follow a standard format for a declarative sentence or a question. That is, they need a subject and a predicate (which contains a verb).

Above, I came up with four words: grind, bit, apply, and sit.

Here are a few sentences:

While applying for a job to return to the daily grind, Suzie bit into a peach as she sat in the waiting room.

The miniature horses were so small I could have ground them into dust, so I sat on a stool as I applied my concentration on trying to get a tiny snaffle bit into Flying Cloud’s mouth.

Working as a sitter was so dull that Harry took apart the Wilson family’s coffee grinder, but when it shocked him, it was as if the appliance had bit him.

Weird? Yes. But any of these could potentially turn into a story. Or try to put them together, if you like. Mix and remix them as much as any club DJ does.

401 — 500 Smidgens of Vision

Here is a twist on Crossover Mania. This time, rip it from the headlines for your plot, characters, and location/universe.

Start with using real names, political parties, companies, or whatever but change those if you ever decide to publish anything you come up with. Just in case.

Because you want to cross over, you will need to put people, places, etc. into odd situations. Perhaps your neighbor with a cat ends up in the local paper because she grew the biggest Hubbard squash ever in your county.

Now throw her in a foreign war. And for your plot, grab something from the sports section, where she comes back from an injury or just misses out on a no-hitter, or is traded for a neighbor to be named later.

If you do not like mixing local, international, and sports news, try the consumer affairs column or the TV section, or the weather, or political news, or real estate, or arts, or…

Or whatever you like. The point is to mix things up.

Do you want to add in any of your hundred words? Sure, you can. Or don’t. Surprise me.

More Sources of Writing Inspiration for You and Me, too

I did say 500, now, yes?

Well, there is more out there than what I know and can think of. But there are also plenty of sources right here in this blog.

Here are a few you can check out:

† Inspiration Videos
• The Physical World
† Getting Story Ideas
• The News
† Myths and Legends
• Religion

I also have inspirational posts on everything from TV shows to eavesdropping or using an ideas jar or bank. So far as I am concerned, all sources of writing inspiration are good ones. And, as always, you do you.