Getting inspiration for short stories by reading like a maniac

I promise I won’t mention Writer’s Block once in this post… oh, wait.

This guy has it all figured out

Being good at writing is not just about technical ability. Writing fiction is all about the story, the emotions, the humanity.

So far this year I’ve written over twenty short stories and my inspiration for them has come in various forms.

If you’re looking for ways to feed your creativity, I would recommend any or all of the following:

• Read journals like the Literary Review or London Review of Books. These types of journals expose you to a vast array of works from the literary landscape which cover topics you’d never normally read about. For example, did you know that the most heavily insured cargo on the Titanic was a small number of crates full of exotic feathers? I mean, how many stories could you think up around that? They often have offers on so you can get 12 issues for £12, for example. Sometimes you even get a free tote bag!
• The New Yorker is worth checking out too. A fairly popular piece of flash fiction I wrote was inspired by a “talk of the town” article. And, of course, they have a weekly piece of fiction.
• Read novels, obviously. Expand your horizons and read authors from different cultures and backgrounds.
• Use weekly or monthly prompts from places such as The Weekly Knob (medium), Lit Up (medium), or Visual Verse. I’ve written a few based on these. Read what other people write for these prompts. Compare and contrast their styles and stories.
• And how about this for an edifying resource of inspiration? I stumbled Novels in Three Lines in a charity shop and couldn’t resist it. I can’t believe I still haven’t taken one of these three line headlines and created a story from it yet. Time to fix that. Watch this space!

While you’re here, I’d love for you to sign up to my brand spanking new mailing list. Far from being a one-way broadcast channel, I’d like it to form the basis of a supportive community.