Inspiration comes from everywhere.

There’s no well, no mine, no single source. It’s all around us.

Orson Scott Card encourages writers to go through their daily lives with an “idea net” to gather any sources of inspiration or ideas that could lead to a story. I refer to these as story sparks: lively, bright little balls of energy that dissipate quickly unless they are recognized, harnessed, and fanned.

I thought it might be cool, and hopefully helpful to other aspiring writers, to share a specific instance where a story spark jumped out at me as I was simply going about my day.

It was 2006 and I was enjoying myself in college, playing one of my favorite video games of the time, Psychonauts. I came to a point where the main character, Raz, encounters a woman named Gloria in an asylum. Gloria was an actress that had gone off the rails. Raz finds her on the asylum grounds in a greenhouse performing for an assembly of flower pots with faces drawn on them arranged on shelves.

Painted flower pots are great, but what if they were actual heads?

I saw this and thought, “That’s interesting, but what if those were actual heads?” The result of that question was the first full length piece I completed, a horror/thriller screenplay titled, Tangled Fate, in which a young man tries to find his missing sister who was one of many people in the community that mysteriously vanished. The point of view switches back and forth between the protagonist and the killer as he “performs” for the severed heads of his victims, which he arranges in a semicircle on tiered shelves in an undisclosed basement.

It was far from perfect, but it was an important step in my growth as a writer; as many can attest, finishing is often the hardest part. And it all started simply because I had my mind open to absorb any story sparks that came my way. (This isn’t the only story Psychonauts inspired, but I’ll delve more into that at a later date.)

The question writers get asked the most is “Where do you get your ideas?” And the answer is simple: everywhere.

Walk around with an idea net. Keep your eyes peeled for any story sparks that jump out from unexpected locations. You’ll be surprised what you find.