Inspiration: It's the Little Things - like Q-tips - That Count

Place: Far Reaches of Northern Wisconsin (my hometown)
Time: About 2:15 p.m. on a weekday I have off from college
Climate: Frigid with a Wind Chill (Of course, this is how I always picture my hometown since 9 months out of the year this description applies. So we're pretty safe saying this.)

I'm walking with my mother through the parking lot of our WalMart. We're going to buy me groceries that I need before I head back to school. I'm in an unruly down jacket about twice the size of me (I'm trying to bring it back in fashion). The trees are rustling with the wind, and the sound of cart wheels struggling through slush surrounds us. I'm watching the ground because that's how I walk. I'm clumsy and don't like falling in slush puddles if avoidable. It is there, in row 3, that I see a grayish outline on the pavement. The object is so compacted that it looks like it's been in the pavement for years - simply a discoloration in the asphalt. But then I recognize the shape. It is the tiny barbell shape of a Q-tip. It has been soaked through with Wisconsin half-rain precipitation and rolled over by all-wheel drive vehicles, but it is a Q-tip nonetheless.

This one tiny object desecrated in the parking lot of a superstore giant files itself into the "I don't see that everyday" category of my brain.

End Scene.

***

Right about now you're thinking: "Great, Alyssa, you saw a Q-tip in a parking lot, nice observational skills. Now what does this have to do with writing or me?" Well, as we all know, before you can start writing anything that isn't a brainstorm, you need an idea. You need inspiration. Often inspiration can prove to be the most illusive part of writing - especially when you're on a deadline and stuck with no ideas. I've been asked many times by other writers or friends dabbling in a writing course, "How do you come up with story ideas?"

The answer is simple. This Q-tip was an idea. It gave me a tiny nugget of inspiration when I said, "Hey!" in my mind. It was stored in the compartments of my brain that I can sometimes access at will (i.e. whenever I'm not taking a test). Now, nothing came of this Q-tip for a very long time. I got my groceries, went back to class, continued doing homework. It wasn't until I had a story set in a parking lot that the Q-tip emerged from my mind, and I used it in my story. The Q-tip idea collided with perhaps a thousand other experiences I've had and gave me the inspiration for this story.

Even though it is commonly thought, every "inspirational activity" doesn't have to be massive and life changing. You don't have to go hang gliding in Paraguay to get a good story idea. While these experiences can definitely help, don't count out the day-to-day. A trip through the WalMart parking lot gave me a detail of depth and reality for my short story. We collect these details constantly because humans are nosy, aware creatures. Some other, more coordinated, human might have been looking up, watching the struggle of a mother trying to get her son to stop jumping in slush puddles and coating her jeans in the sop. These mundane experiences, unique to every one of us, are what give a story life. Because I know, had I been looking up instead of at the pavement, I probably would have seen this event taking place. In fact, I have seen it a few times while people watching from a stationary location. And these details do not have to be the center event for every story. My short story had nothing to do with Q-tips crushed into parking lot asphalt. But these inspirational nuggets of detail help to make a story deep, original, and believable. They also help a writer to get something on the page so a story can (hopefully) follow.

In short, ideas and inspiration come from every corner of life. They come when you're planning them (like Paraguay) and they come when you're not even thinking about writing (like the Q-tip). If you're having trouble finding ideas for stories or poems, don't worry. Breathe. Take a break from writing and go to the store, to a museum, or out for Chinese. See what happens. Make sure you store any happenings in your brain or write them down. Inspiration will find you anywhere, as long as you are aware enough to notice it.