Ideas that grow on trees

One of the questions most asked of writers is, “Where do you get your ideas?” It’s a question that stumps us sometimes because the answer seems so obvious.  As creative types, we’ve trained ourselves to find ideas everywhere we look.

Recently, I was at a poetry reading where I tried an experiment. As I listened to the three poets read, I jotted down any words or phrases that struck me or grabbed my interest. Here are a few from my list: an old vocabulary, etymology, smuggling the universe, the safety of seduction, mouths pucker, cornucopia. 

I’d been having difficulty with the ending of a poem but at the reading, I had an inspiration of how to fix it. Now, I think the poem is one of my best.

We can find ideas everywhere. Poetry readings. Live Theater. Movies. Parties. Books. Newspapers. Magazines. Walking in nature. Riding a Harley. The key is to just stay open and aware.

If you’d like to read about where author Dean Koontz found the idea for his best-selling book “Mr. Murder” read his post here.

A dear friend used to say, “Money may not grow on trees, but ideas do.” Where do you find your ideas? Please share in the comments below.