Sometimes I am inspired by people’s actions. For example, I recently saw an SUV where someone soaped on the message, “Thank You Coaches.” My imagination fired up. Immediately, I thought it was one of a number of high school graduates who decided to honor their coaches but were limited by social distancing imposed by COVID-19. I liked that idea. I liked the way that he or she is giving back. I imagined an entire slew of cars thanking their coaches for a job well done. I began to wonder just what the coaches had done to inspire kids to take such a positive action. It really could be the inspiring idea for a non-fiction book about a particular coach, a fiction idea about a coach who inspires the team but falls prey to COVID-19, or any other number of ideas.

Sometimes, I am inspired by nature.

One day I was lying down on a chaise lounge and I noticed the clouds morphing into different shapes. I decided to take pictures of the clouds as they drifted. It strikes me that one day I’ll write a non-fiction book about clouds and what makes them change shape. I may also include some pictures of clouds that could inspire me to write stories. For example, in this photo, there appears to be a bird emanating from an Aladdin’s lamp.

There is, by the way, a huge difference between an idea and a finished book. Most of my finished books are dramatically different from the original idea. The idea inspires the book. Writing and revising the book (which can take years) often reshapes my idea. This photo could also inspire a fiction book featuring the character Swirly Bird.

I challenge you to write a book based on my ideas. Don’t worry about stealing the concept. If we were both in a writing workshop with 200 other people and one of the challenges was to write a book based on this photo, we would get 200 different stories. The trick is to create a story that others want to read, over-and-over.