Inspiration

Inspiration can come from anywhere. My students often complain that they have no idea what to write about, but I have to say, that’s a problem I’ve never suffered from — rather the reverse. I have so many ideas popping into my head all the time it’s a struggle to figure out who gets priority. Usually deadlines make the choice, but sometimes I find myself working on a few stories at the same time because all the ideas are shouting at me in urgent voices.

Writers need to get in the habit of cultivating ideas. It’s a good practice to feed your head all the time: in addition to reading, art, music, conversations all help fill up that well of inspiration. It’s important to keep your head ‘open’ — allow those unusual juxtapositions to collide and spark unexpected ideas. You know you’re a writer when something terrible happens and you realise there’s a part of your brain filing it away to use later. You never know what you might need. The most mundane object can take on new life when you see it from a different angle.

A good example: “Love on a Spoon” which I always refer to as “the Nutella story” because, well, that’s what inspired it. My fellow Ravenous Romance writer Jesse Blair Kensington was putting together an anthology of erotic romance, Ambrosia: An Anthology of Sex and Appetite. I thought, hmmm: what food is sexy? Chocolate, of course! I figured many of the stories would have to do with cooking, so I wanted to do something a bit different — mostly because I’m not much of a cook, unlike Jesse (to see how well she does both writing and cooking, read her novel Appetite for Passion).

Well, it didn’t take me long to think about Nutella as chocolate that offered some interesting possibilities. But what about the people eating it? I came up with the idea of a pair of friends who had known each other a long time without ever becoming romantic. Jane’s just been dumped again — even her shoe is falling apart. Gerald wants Jane to see him as a lover, not just a friend, and Nutella is just the first step in demonstrating this side of him:

Oh god, he hoped she would respond positively when it came to it. He was tired of her seeing him ‘like a brother’; Gerald wanted her to see him in a whole new light.

“I think it’s Nutella time,” he finally said, his voice husky with suppressed desire. “Shall I prepare your spoon?” Jane murmured assent, so Gerald screwed the top off the jar and pulled the foil top away.

“Is there any better sound?” Jane asked from the depths of the big chair. “That and champagne corks popping. Wonderful!”

Gerald grinned and plunged the spoon into the creamy depths of the jar, swirling a generous helping of the chocolate spread onto its bowl. The scent of hazelnuts wafted up to his nose and he inhaled with pleasure. “Mademoiselle?” he said formally, handing the spoon over to Jane. She took it and licked a dollop off at once, sighing.

Gerald watched her and thought it was time to gather a little courage. Step two: foot rub. “So now that you have your warm fire, cognac and Nutella—”

“Mmmm, Nutella!” Jane affirmed, sticking the rest of the spoonful in her mouth.

“Yes, now that all the basic food groups are taken care of, how about a foot massage? That will be relaxing, won’t it?” He hated the way his throat tried to strangle the words. If she said no, it was no big deal, he told himself.

“Oh, would you?” Jane said eyes still blissfully closed. “Those shoes have to go. They’re falling apart. I should walk home barefoot.” If you go home, Gerald thought hopefully. Her eyes snapped open and for a moment, he feared that he had spoken the words out loud. “But first,” Jane said with a grin, “More Nutella!”

As you can guess, things get a lot hotter. In addition to my fave writing snack, I also worked in a phrase one of my friends uses a lot, a reference to Żubrówka, my fave vodka (Bison power!) and an off-hand reference to a bit by the dishy Irish comedian Dylan Moran. Why? Because those ideas popped up in the “what’s on my mind” lottery. Unlike most lotteries, there’s a winner almost every time. Try it!