Inspiration can really come from anywhere. I've had ideas come to me from dreams, from songs, from a place I've visited. There is no wrong place to get inspiration. Take last night, for instance. My husband and I went to a bar to watch a friend of ours play. My current WIP has a male lead who, among other things, is the lead singer for a band. He also has a younger brother in the band. I had no inspiration for the younger brother; what instrument he played, what his personality was like, what he looked like (outside of some basic parameters), nothing. Then I was watching the people in the bar, seeing who was talking to who, what everyone was doing as the bar filled up. I saw our friend talking to a younger man. He was smiling, outgoing, friendly, and seemed to be just living in the moment. When the friend came back to our table, his wife asked who he was talking to. He told her the other man's name, and that he was the bass player for the band he was in.
Now, let's step back a moment and explain. Our friend had signed up to play with a group of people he'd never met before, signed up for which instrument he wanted to play, and which band he wanted to play with. The group of strangers got together a few times over the next four weeks, then performed for the first time last night. That was it, a one time shot. This is why his wife asked who he was talking to because they'd never met before.
Anyway, back to my moment of inspiration. I've always been a fan of bass players, even dated one in high school. As a general rule they are much more quiet than the other members of the band, except perhaps the drummer. Perhaps that's why I gravitated toward them. But I digress (a lot). So this guy was smiling, watching the other bands playing, just really enjoying the entire experience. When it was their turn to set up and play he was all kinds of serious, focused on getting the other band's gear off and his band's gear on, setting up the amps and mics, prepping for the show. Once they were all ready, he was on. And I mean, "ON". He played very well, and I could tell he really enjoyed performing. He was smiling, engaging the audience, and having a great time. That was when I realized that I could see my character in him. In that moment, Lucca was up there, playing bass with his brother singing, engaging the audienced, and having a great time. After their set was over there was a special guest. The Spoonman, of Soundgarden fame, played with the group, and then he did a little set himself. The bass player sat on the floor in front of the stage and watched with childlike enthusiasm as the Spoonman did his thing. That was another piece of my character that fleshed itself out. While the music wasn't the same as what will be in my book, and he doesn't look anything like the character, the essence was there. The spirit of what I saw made it clear that Lucca and this other man would get along great.
After the gig was over, I had to have a picture with him. I walked up and asked if I could take a picture with him. Of course he said yes. I snapped a picture, then thanked him and told him that he gave me inspiration for a character in my novel. He told me he was also writing a novel, which competely blew my mind.
Anyway, that's why inspiration can come from anywhere.
