I have my next creative writing class on Monday; I can’t just smugly wait for the leader to tell us what to do, I am the leader! This will be my second session; the firs one was a getting-to-know-you session, where we introduced ourselves, talked a little about what we liked reading and what we liked writing, and then the ‘students’ or maybe I should say class members read out their pieces based on the idea of change.
On Monday I want to think about inspiration, and where it might come from; some of the people in the class seem only to be able to write if they are told what to do, a little like being given homework, but I think it would be nice if they could find their own inspiration, and begin to write outside of the session demands. I’m going to give them a list of things which might help them to find…Inspiration!
Where do stories come from? Here are some ideas:
- a dream or day-dream
- an observation of people in the street, on a bus, in a shop, on the beach, walking by a river…
- people you don’t know but see arguing, kissing, ignoring each other, looking at each other, fighting, smiling secretively
- an incident you observed or witnessed
- a scrap of conversation you overheard
- the lyric of a song
- an experience you had
- a strange coincidence
- a traditional story, myth or legend which suggests a modern re-telling
- another story you read, saw on TV or as a film, which suggests a situation, series of events, characters which you can rework to make your own
- the ‘what happened next’ of another story
- a what if… moment
- unexplained inspiration
- a found photo… who are those people? how are they related, why are they there? what is the occasion? what are they really thinking? who is taking the photo?
- something you pretended happened to you
- something you would have liked to happen to you
- a news item
- a picture in a gallery, museum, on a wall in a waiting room, in a newspaper or magazine
- a film or a TV programme
- a song
- music
- a mystery or puzzle
- famous people, singers, actors, sports or TV personalities…
- your own family or friends
Lois Elsden 
A very interesting post. Some times I lack inspiration as a photographer. Any ideas?
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