Sometimes my inspiration takes off and gallops full speed ahead without me doing anything, and this in the most ordinary situations. It makes for seemingly bizarre ideas, but once you build a story around them, the bizarreness fades into the background.
I sat at the back of a bus when the driver stopped, cut off the engine, and got off. A bit later, a new driver got on and drove the bus off. My transport-obsessed husband would explain how this stop was the point where drivers regularly switch duty. My writer mind however wondered what if that new driver wasn’t a RATP bus driver but [take your pick] a hijacker, a wizard, a time traveler wanting to try and drive a motorized vehicle?
A few years ago, there were still a few phone boxes around here, including in my street. One day that phone box was removed. I’ve heard people say, “No one but Superman will miss them”, but maybe someone does. What else besides a changing cabin for superheroes (or the visitor entrance to the Ministry for Magic) could a phone box be used for?
At my day job, I’ve been sitting on the health and safety committee for a few years now. One thing I learned during the training course was that employers have to pay employees for work-related injuries. Then I read pirate codes have similar provisions – pirates get payment for loss of a limb.
If there are such parallels between our modern working world and the centuries-ago pirate world, what kind of parallels could there be in a fantasy or sci-fi world?
A post a made on Twitter and its reply:
I was visiting the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. In the lower chamber, where the MPs sit, the guide explained that the front benches are just a little more than 2 word-lengths apart, dating back to the days when men wore swords, to avoid that a debate in Parliament got too heated.
I read about a German law that requires that seals born in captivity may not be returned to the wild. How would that apply to humans in a dystopian setting?
As you see, inspiration can be found (pretty much) anywhere.