What
inspires a writer?
For
me, it was a perfect storm of three factors. Simultaneously, I suddenly had
more time to devote to personal projects, I enrolled in a world mythology
course at my university, and there was a story spiraling to life inside me.
In
the course, I learned about the common elements in myths across many cultures,
the hero cycle, and how the characteristics of ancient heroes are the same as
those of modern-day heroes.
It
was fascinating to find out that nearly every culture has a flood myth to
explain that there are consequences for disobedience and bad choices. I loved
the course, and it inspired me to get my story down on paper—digital paper that
is.
The
story I was working on was Disenchanted. My hero was a sixteen-year-old
girl who had to break her ancestor’s true love curse carried down through
generations onto a boy she was destined to fall in love with. The setting, Old
Wethersfield, Connecticut, is the home of the first American witch trials (not
Salem). Witch trials–talk about consequences for bad choices! I was inspired
by one of those Wethersfield witches who went to trial, so I cast her as the
ancestor that curses the family of the witch trial judge.
Sources
of inspiration are different for everyone. If you’re seeking inspiration for
writing or creating, unplug from social media, take a class like I did, change
your environment even for just an hour, visit a museum, or take a nap and
dream. Let the wonders of the world around you spark your imagination!
Leigh Goff is an author of three published young adult novels. She is working on her next novel, a young adult thriller, while her current manuscript, Wicked Sweet, is on submission.
You can find her current published novels at Audible | Amazon | Apple
Learn more about Leigh Goff on
her website and blog.
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