Genie and a polar bear

Just a quick note on inspiration. I think for writers it comes from just about everywhere. I don’t need much personally for my brain to take off on a tangent for a story. It’s actually harder for me to stay focused on one single story at a time to see it through ASAP because there are always a solid dozen or more constantly going through my head. And any little thing might set another story off.

For instance, just this morning I was driving to work, scanning radio stations when I heard these lyrics from a Christina Aguilera song:

I’m a genie in a bottle, baby
Gotta rub me the right way, honey
I’m a genie in a bottle, baby
Come, come, come and let me out

And bam! Another story was kick-started through my imagination. I just saw it. It joined the one from yesterday morning that got started from a dream I had about being chased by a huge polar bear through a Louisiana swamp over rickety old catwalks until I came to a dead end at a trailer where I burst into it and scared a woman speechless who was rocking her baby to sleep. Seeing her there surprised me and I stopped just long enough for the polar bear to catch me and he batted at me because he’d been wanting to play. Here I’d been running for my life and so frightened in my dream and he’d just wanted to play. Sheesh. Even in my dream, I was rolling my eyes.

Sometimes, I wish I had a little less inspiration.   …I know – be careful what you wish for…