Getting Inspiration From The Physical World

Are you getting any of your inspiration from the physical world? One thing about the physical world is that we experience it by way of our senses.

Therefore, it makes sense (ha, no pun intended, I swear!) to cover character reactions as much as you cover descriptions of just what is out there.

A Look at The Physical World

The physical world can inspire, whether it’s the Appalachian Trail, or your bedroom, or the Himalayas.

And while not everyone can live in Paris or visit Yosemite National Park, we can all be inspired by our own personal universes. Moreover, if your world can inspire you, then your readers can come along for the ride.

And, they may even picture your characters inside one of the corners of their own personal little universes.

The Great Indoors

So consider The Chronicles of Narnia. Why? Because the means of traveling to a magical world is via a common ordinary wardrobe.

And how about Alice in Wonderland? Lewis Carroll told his story about a lot of things Alice Liddell already knew, such as chair legs and a deck of cards.

So from your desk to your computer or chair, what can you really see when you look closely? And what can you imagine about that stuff?

Also, do try to go beyond the somewhat common idea of a computer sucking someone into cyberspace. It’s not a bad idea. It’s just been done a lot.

Maybe your character is buried by paper. Or they end up in the vacuum cleaner. Attics and cellars can seem very frightening. What about the walls, or the ceiling?

Don’t forget, Edgar Allan Poe’s (probably) most famous story involves a murderer hearing a heartbeat coming from under floor boards.

The Physical World Includes The Great Outdoors

And then we get to the outside. So what do we see? Carroll saw hedgehogs, dormice, and rabbits. We can also see plants, of course. Are they large and menacing, or small and fragrant?

And what about natural structures or scenery, such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and canyons?

Part of The Wizard of Oz takes place in an apple orchard. It’s easy to see how and why L. Frank Baum imagined trees talking and even throwing fruit. How about imagining how a certain structure came to be?

We all know (or at least we should) that craters come from falling meteors or even comet strikes. But what if a crater exists because a spaceship landed there? A structure like Stonehenge can also inspire.

The Physical World and Inspiration: Takeaways

Get outside and take stock of your surroundings. They may inspire more than you think. And don’t forget: your characters will not necessarily notice every little thing that crosses their paths.

After all, out there in the real world, do you?