Inspiration Everywhere by Wendy H. Jones
Being a writer is wonderful, busy, scary, action packed, interesting and can take you to the ends of the earth and all sorts of strange places. Wherever a writer goes they find inspiration and ideas for their writing. This is certainly true in my case. I find that possible body dumps just leap out at me wherever I go.
However, this past week, there weren't many body dumps in sight. Some body parts did appear but that's a whole different story, as the saying goes. One for another blog.
For the past week I have been in London with my nieces, on a holiday rather than for work. However, it's tough to turn my crime writer's brain off. There's always an opportunity to think about a possible plot or storyline. Especially when the young ones want to got to Ripley's Believe it or Not, and Madam Tussauds. Ripley's has a chamber of horrors. As you can imagine this is fertile ground for anyone dealing with dead bodies in a book. That covers most crime writers. I have to say that medieval torturers were a gruesome lot. They make modern day crime writers look like a bunch of fairies. I suppose they had to think of something to do when there was nothing on the telly.
Ripley's is fascinating, esoteric and also somewhat random. I don't see what is strange about an original copy of Peter Pan, or an uncorrected proof of one of Agatha Christie's books. However, they are there for all to see. Being in the presence of such literary greats made me sit down and write a bit of the next DI Shona McKenzie Mystery. Yes, you've got it. Book seven. JM Barrie, the legendary author of Peter Pan, is from Kirriemuir, which is near where I live in Scotland. Agatha Christie is possibly the most legendary crime writer of all time. That day I felt like I was a part of history. It made me want to write more. The picture below is living proof that writers are always writing. I whipped out my phone, cracked open Evernote, and there it was ready to copy and paste into the manuscript when I got to my laptop.
I'm not sure my nieces were entirely impressed. They wanted to carry on looking at the exhibition. And look we did. Ripley's is brimming over with inspiration for writers. Nearly every exhibit could be used somewhere in a book.
I would like to leave with a question. What inspires you to write? What makes you want to put one finger in front of the other on a keyboard, or to pick up a pen or pencil? Inspiration is everywhere, if you only just look.
 |
| Winner of the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2017 |
 |
| Shortlisted for the Woman Alive Readers Choice Award |
About the Author
Wendy H. Jones is the award winning author author of the best selling DI Shona McKenzie Mystery series of crime novels set in Dundee. Killer's Crew, the fifth booking the series was released in November, 2016 and won the Books Go Social Book of the Year 2017. Dagger's Curse, the first book in her Fergus and Flora, Young Adult Mystery series was released on 10th September, 2016 and is currently shortlisted for the Woman Alive Readers Choice Award 2017. She also has one non fiction book, Power Packed Book Marketing: Sell More Books.
Comments
That subconscious thought then usually forms into a fragment of text or sometimes a sentence. Two examples I can think offhand are, 'Anger can do in five seconds what a shrink can't do in five years,' or, 'Never have I ever... and never have I ever...'
Once those words are out there, the rest of the story or poem usually follows quickly.
I've heard of Ripley's before, but I've never been there. It sounds like a top place for crime ideas.
Interesting post, I sometimes scribble on a train or bus, usually observation of or conjectures about fellow passengers, occasionally of some passing scene or incident in the streets, I never actually do anything with these scribbles as such but it flexes the old writing muscles and ideas burrow into my brain and come out when called and needed.
Ripley sounds fascinating - a bit like the old uni library in St Andrews where I used to sit and daydream down in 'The Stacks' (when I should have been studying). Something about being surrounded by books and famous writing legends. Like being in an old church where the very walls seem saturated in prayer: in 'bookie' places, the very air is always alive with words, scenes, plots, characters . . .
Have you been to the Writers Museum in Edinburgh? I spent several happy afternoons there while reseaching my latest novel. If not, come through and we could have a day out together in the Royal Mille doing writery things.