Inspiration - Where Does It Come From?

Writing is fantastic. It's also filled with flaws and turbulence. Anything can upset the balance and I have endured my own tidal wave of 'events' over the last five months. You could say that my writing has been little and not very often which is incredibly frustrating. However, as an avid reader I have recently received some fresh inspiration.

I read Hilary Mantel's biography recently and she said that she always knew she was capable of writing and of being a good writer but she did not know how to write fiction. Ta da! My first snippet of inspiration courtesy of Hilary. When I first began my writing journey, I was anything but an accomplished fiction writer.  I began out in the same camp as Hilary in that I always knew that I could write fairly well but I had never attempted to write fiction - not since my school days and that was some time ago. So, the fact that Hilary Mantel had to learn her trade is certainly inspirational and gives me hope.

My next jewel of inspiration came direct from a Cumbrian author, a traditionally published author who has now embarked upon self publishing. Her opinion of self publishing has changed from one of negativity to one of positivity and she is fully embracing all it has to offer. The rather bleak and negative changes in traditional publishing have pushed many authors out into this new, evolving world and there are many benefits to be gained. The main one is that you could have your new novel published and for sale within 3 months of completing the manuscript. It certainly beats the traditional route which could actually take 2 years + to achieve this. Well, it's food for thought.

My final sparkler came from an interview over on the historical novel society.
Author Kate Lord Brown discusses her second published novel, 'The Perfume Garden,' which was set during the Spanish Civil War. Listening to her words inspired me today because she appears to share my passion for both World Wars, aviation and romance. It's great to hear about the work of others but it's fantastic when you encounter someone who seems to share your passion and essentially, your work. You can take inspiration from the most simple things or words and sometimes it's almost as if it was there waiting for you to come along in need. So, now I'm quite inspired I'm off to do some work. You can tune in for the interview here:
http://historicalnovelsociety.org/richard-lee-talks-with-kate-lord-brown-about-the-perfume-garden-and-the-allure-of-the-spanish-civil-war/