People have commented to me that they can’t imagine where I come up with the ideas to write stories. I tell them that it’s really not a problem, the ideas are everywhere! I think it’s just about how you look at the world. I recently saw a graphic that (Gale/Gail/Gayle?) from A Beautiful Mess Inside had created which said, “Legend has it that when you can’t sleep it is because you are awake in someone else’s dream.” My brain instantly started spinning. Do they mean that the other person dreaming about you is keeping you awake or that you’re actually a figment of someone else’s dream? This… this should be a story.
I see ideas like this all day long, in newspaper stories, in everyday life and online. I recently found a few web sites that I find inspiring, either because they rang true and touched me, or because they made me laugh and life is too damn depressing. (According to Martha Beck we should be getting 30 LPD, or laughs per day. Are you?)
The first web site I found through Pinterest is about a stay at home Dad with a two year old who writes on Post-it notes then photographs them to write blog entries. Several of them made me laugh and I could relate to others. You can check him out at http://messagewithabottle.tumblr.com/
The second web site I found was because of the graphic quote above – http://abeautifulmessinside.com/ I haven’t fully explored her web site but just the things that she turns into images are inspiring.
The last blog I found was from The Bloggess, because of her recent book, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. She grew up in the little town of Wall, Texas with a taxidermist who had a crazy sense of humor for a father. She was the only goth chick at an agricultural high school. I was laughing through the whole book but there were poignant moments too. It made me look up her blog and I was interested and touched by what I saw there as well. I highly recommend it. http://thebloggess.com/
It’s the little things that shift your perspective and make you consider life in a new light. Sometimes I look down at my hands and see the age spots and think of how time is flying by, and sometimes I look down and see my engagement ring next to my wedding band and feel like I’m wearing a tiny crown.
Melora Johnson's Muse 