Inspiration is Right in Front of You
I've been back in Maryland for almost three years and some days
that seems like a lifetime. I miss Hawaii with all it's beauty
but most of all I miss the ocean. Each beach offered a different
wave pattern. Some were calm and mellow, perfect for families
vacationing in the area. Others had ten foot waves, each adorned
with one or more surfers. Still others had thunderous shore
breaks, the waves crashing upon the beach and sucking anything
it could reach out to sea.
Different moods found me sitting on different shores, watching
the waves whether gentle or harsh. The ocean often inspired me.
>From these visits came stories of comedy, horror and mystery.
The ocean contains an endless amount of material. Characters
were waiting to be discovered in family interactions, cautious
flirtations and the playful nature of the honeymooners. Every
minute brought a new scenario and potential for another story.
I not only derived characters from these visits but settings as
well. I took my notepad, or sometimes my laptop, to the beach
with me and described a sunset as it occurred. I noted the
texture of the sand and the smell of the kelp. I listened to the
sounds of the pigeons as the searched the beach for a bit of
spam leftover from some Local's lunch.
For hours on end I watched children play in the surf, noting
their various reactions. Some children were terrified of the
water, clinging to the parents and screaming in horror as the
water reached out to graze their toes. Others were fearless,
charging in without a second thought, daring the water to do
it's worse. The reactions of the adults were much less notable.
They rarely ran into the surf with complete abandon and those
too scared to enter laid on their towels far above the reach of
the surf.
It's amazing how many ideas can be born of one single thing.
Tales of the ocean range from adventure to romance. Each
individual interprets the scene in a different way. Seeing the
ocean from all sides of the island, I understand how diverse
each viewpoint could be. Dozens of beaches attracted millions of
visitors, each with their own agenda. The idea of the perfect
beach varied depending on what the individual was searching for,
calm or chaos.
One single entity, the beach, can spark an abundance of
creativity. It can inspire a story in every genre; each author
picking up different nuances and producing a different tale as a
result. One day of sitting on a beach can provide a lifetime of
inspiration if you keep your eyes and ears open.
While the beach is often my source of inspiration, any setting
can be rich enough to feed a writer's muse. Take a pad of paper
and a pen to a favorite location and jot down notes about what
you see and hear. Write about an interesting person you see and
what they were doing. You might not use these notes right away,
but someday they may become the backbone of a story.