There's something under the rock
Where does inspiration come from? Better yet, how does one become inspired?
I used to think about this question a lot when I began dabbling in writing. The answer is very simple: inspiration comes from anywhere. Anything can inspire. Even the sun on a very hot sticky day.
The trick to being inspired is training the mind to be open to new ideas. The mind requires significant training to see new things as they are and to learn how to react to them, positively.
A fantastic source of inspiration for me as a storyteller over the last three years is not a book, tv show, movie or podcast, many of which I do love and inspire. It is a video game: Elden Ring.
Elden Ring is a masterclass in worldbuilding, lorebuilding and gameplay, three key elements that must come together well to make for a great gaming and storytelling experience. I have played this game many hours, and each time I play, I pay very close attention to its overall design which as I indicated earlier has been a fantastic source of inspiration as I write. I haven’t even mentioned the dialogue. Masterful!
It’s no secret that often the type of inspiration we want and seek tends to come from mediums which have little, if nothing to do with the type of work we do.