The other day I dropped one of those Question boxes onto my Instagram story so that I could do a big Q&A style blog post, but I only got one real honest-to-goodness question, the rest were spammers and bots. I was a bit disappointed until I realized that the human question that was asked was sooooo good! I decided to dedicate a whole blog post just to it. So thank you so much Amira at @GoalSetting101
She asked me — Who Or What Inspires You?
To be honest, that answer can and has changed throughout my creative life and depends on which story or project I’m working on, but today I wanted to sit down and really think about overall, who and what inspires me on a day-to-day basis.
Who Inspires Me?
My son inspires me every day to keep trying, to never give up, even when things are hard. He makes me smile and laugh and is just the sweetest 8 year old ever! My Mom inspires me by how hard she loves, how much she cares, and how much support she gives me. My husband inspires me by his strong work ethic, his wonderful sense of humor, and how much he wants me to succeed.
For my first book, The Art of Lying, a random young woman walking through Central Park inspired the character of Rachel. Other writers, both people I know and people I just read, inspire me to keep moving forward, hands on the typewriter, butt in the chair.
What Inspires Me?
Coffee – first and forever. Modern Art. Before Corona, I would just go to MoMa or the Guggenheim and walk around soaking in the colors and lines. New York City, in general, inspires me, but Broadway and Time Square specifically. Just sitting with a coffee watching the whole city walk by was always fascinating. The energy and the electricity of the whole scene just filled me up with some kind of frenzy I can’t get anywhere else. TV and movies inspire me to write better characters, to deepen plot lines, to create more.
The young adult experience inspires me in my writing – what they go through, the issues they have to face, and the decisions they have to make. Solving puzzles and figuring out the psychology of the human condition definitely inspires me to write compelling people, creating characters that my readers can fall in love with. And on a more whimsical note, tarot cards and astrology inspire me to keep reaching for the stars while keeping my feet on the ground.
So, now I have to know – who or what inspires you?
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