Writing by Inspiration
By James Rizzo
Where do you get your ideas? This a question that I’m often asked. I assume that is also the case with many writers. An inspiration is someone or something that brings a passion, something burning deep inside, to the surface. It gives us that desire to express ourselves whether it be through music, drawing, dancing, painting or writing. I believe we all have these underlying passions that require some form of a creative outlet to be expressed. My chosen outlet is writing. I write because I have a story to tell.
I have friends who have experienced the effects of war first hand and found their voice through writing. Or some who have experienced a personal tragedy and expressed themselves through writing. Some found inspiration through nature or another person. Some of the greatest works of literature were based on the authors personal experiences as their inspiration.
I’m a fiction writer because writing fiction is fun, really fun. Imagine this; you can be anyone you choose at any time in the past, present or future and go there. Let your imagination run wild on the page. I’m inspired by history. I love taking people, places and events from the past and bringing them to the present. I become a part of history as a fictional character. And I don’t even need to be a bystander but actually playing an active role.
An inspiration can be as little as a one sentence fact. For example ‘the town of Wherever burnt to the ground on Christmas Day, 1840’. An entire book can be built around this one fact. Who were the people of the town? What were the events that led up to the cause of the fire? What happened during the fire? What was the aftermath?
I have a young adult book that I wrote 3 years ago that was set in the iron-making village of Hopewell, Pennsylvania in 1847. The book practically wrote itself due to the rich history of this town. There were many iron making towns all along the northern border of the Mason-Dixon Line due to the accessibility of raw materials for the production of cast iron. They were also often used as depots for the Underground Railroad. So now imagine what it must have been like to be a 12 year old boy growing up in an iron making village along the Mason-Dixon Line just prior to the Civil War. What was life like in the town just prior to the Civil War? Who lived there? What were the sounds and smells of an iron making foundry? Can you see how much fun this can be?
My latest release was set in Philadelphia during the Great Depression. Carson Jones is a prison guard at the notorious Eastern State Penitentiary. Again, with the rich history of Eastern State Penitentiary and inmates such as Al Capone, this story practically wrote itself. My current project is set in 1880 in a western boom town during a silver strike.
Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes. Whatever your chosen outlet may be does not matter but find a way to express it. Some writers express themselves through mysteries, science fiction, romance or horror. Some write songs, poems or novel. Just let that inspiration become a part of you. People will often say to me things such as “I’ve always wanted to write a book. I have this great idea for a story”. So that is the first step and the next step is when the fun begins.
Azaleas Beyond The Prison Walls is the first adult novel from James Rizzo. He is also the author of The Gift of Phineas Lake, a young adult novel qualified by Kirkus Review as “a quick, compelling historical novel with a magical touch” and an “unassailable moral message that would be a great choice for YA readers with an interest in the history of American slavery.”
Chair & Pen publishes stories on the writing process and the writing life. It is edited and curated by Writing Coach Annalisa Parent. To learn more about how to work with Annalisa, visit www.DateWithTheMuse.com
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