Writing Inspiration is Everywhere

I am so excited to welcome fellow Fire & Ice YA author Laura Wolfe back to the blog today to help celebrate my BLOG’S BIRTHDAY, and to be part of the SHOWERS OF BOOKS BLOG HOP! A few months ago, I read her YA mystery TRAIL OF SECRETS, and I highly recommend it! Laura has kindly offered an ebook copy of TRAIL OF SECRETS for this Giveaway! She shares a fabulous post about writing inspiration. After reading it, just scroll down to enter via Rafflecopter. And then don’t forget to visit the next blog on the hop!

Writing Inspiration is Everywhere

By Laura Wolfe

When people ask me where I find the ideas for my books, I give them a simple answer:  everywhere. I find my writing inspiration in the world around me, in the places I’ve lived, in the people I’ve met, in my fears, and in my passions. An idea can be sparked by a dramatic story on the morning news or by something as subtle as the way the leaves on the trees in my backyard rustle in the wind.

Because horses are a passion of mine, I often discover the greatest inspiration at the stable where I take riding lessons. The premise of my young adult novel, TRAIL OF SECRETS, was born on the back of horse. Returning from a trail ride one summer afternoon, I thought to myself, What if a horse returned from a trail ride without its rider? What if that rider was never found? My skin prickled with excitement at the thought, and I knew I had the idea for a book.

I’ve never successfully willed myself to think of an idea for a book. For me, inspiration isn’t something that can be conjured up during a brainstorming session. Inspiration strikes at the most unsuspecting times. It’s when my mind is quiet and my body is occupied with tasks unrelated to writing—walking my dog, grooming a horse, chopping vegetables— that the best ideas pop into my head and refuse to leave until I write them down. When this happens, I tend to lock myself in a room for several months and not emerge until I’ve written 80,000 words. Perhaps this obsessive ritual makes me crazy, but I do it in the hope that the idea that inspired me to write an entire book will be original and magnetic enough to inspire others to read what I’ve written. Inspired writing usually results in inspired reading and, after all, that’s the goal.

Laura Wolfe is a lover of animals and nature. When she is not writing, she can be found playing games with her highly-energetic kids, riding horses, growing vegetables in her garden, or spoiling her rescue dog. She lives in her home state of Michigan with her husband, son, and daughter. Laura holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan and a JD from DePaul University. She is a member of multiple writing groups, including Sisters in Crime and the SCBWI. Connect with Laura on her WEBSITE.

TRAIL OF SECRETS by Laura Wolfe

The Foxwoode Riding Academy brochure hadn’t mentioned anything about the girl who vanished on a trail ride four years earlier. While the other girls laugh over the story of the dead girl who haunts Foxwoode, Brynlei senses that the girl—or her ghost—lurks in the shadows. As Brynlei begins to unravel the truth, she is faced with an impossible choice. Will she protect a valuable secret? Or save a life?