Where do you think authors get their inspiration?

[complimentarymatters]

Where do you think authors get their inspiration? What kinds of things do you think motivate authors and influence their writing?

[mmenzel]

This is always something that is interesting to me and I made sure to include this question in the info section that our authors fill out. For some it is a childhood situation, issues that they are interested in or just a really great imagination!

[Tracey Neal]

That is an excellent question, I would assume from life itself..experiences..love..pain..memories..ordeals..fleeting thoughts..drunkness..other people..IMAGINATION! haha..everything..everything

[surabhi279]

i think they get it from what they observe around themselves in their life.. or people who they know..

[angeleyes]

This is pretty much easy to answer...authors get ideas I
think from past experiences in life, and also would have
a vivid imagination.

[perksofbeingme]

i think they get it from what they observe around themselves in their life.. or people who they know..

I know that this is true for Chuck Palahniuk. because if you read his book of short essays, "stranger than fiction" you can see where he gets the inspiration for a lot of his books. He goes to some of the weirdest events and writes essays about them.

[blue_doona32]

I'd like to think that authors pull their inspiration from every day experiences, people they know, people they imagine, maybe even from things they have read in the past. I know that's where I get my inspiration from when I write.

I think its true: you write how you read. If you read more sci-fi and fiction, you're probably more likely to write that genre than anything else.

What ever the inspiration, I'm glad they have it because I love reading it all.

[NVJones]

I think all your answers are correct. It's my belief that authors will pull their inspiration from every facet of life--dreams, personal experiences: present and past, imagination, historical accounts, mythology, etc.
To me, dreams are the biggest source of stories. If you happen to dream every night, and in Technicolor, stories often come forth

[Shadogirl]

Thats something i would love to know!! It would make you feel more in tune with them

[LivreAmour217]

Inspiration can be drawn from anything and everything. Authors can get inspiration from life experience, family, friends, books, and all other forms of media.

[Zoe303]

Like everyone said I think it mainly comes from their life experience. Some authors might have some message to deliver or they want to make some kind of change and they use their writing skills to influence others.

[GandalfTheFey]

Mostly the people the books they read, the people they know, and experiences they have. Booze and drugs, too.

[kennyhop]

They have dreams and "come to Jesus" moments.

Some just pull creativeness out of their butt.

[Ursula_Minor]

Literally everywhere.

[LivreAmour217]

Booze and drugs, too.

This does indeed apply to some authors! We can file under "life experience," I guess!