Inspiration

   I know this is going to sound cliche, but I can find inspiration anywhere. I can never tell what's going to spark an idea. I once wrote the rough draft of an entire novel because of a line I heard in a movie. That unfinished work is still sitting on my shelf awaiting revision.
   Of course, I get my best ideas from listening to music. Sometimes it's the lyrics, sometimes it's the music, and sometimes it's a combination of the two that get my creative juices flowing. I get ideas from dreams and I mentally write scenes while I'm in the shower.
   Keeping up with all these ideas can be a bit of a chore. I can't stand forgetting a little spark of what could later be genius, but it has happened once or twice (meaning a lot). In order to solve this problem, I keep notebooks nearby so I can quickly write my thought and ideas down. Unfortunately, I'm terribly unorganized, so there are about 15 notebooks floating around my house and I'm always losing my pens. This means I usually end up writing my thoughts down with my children's crayons.
   I always go back and rewrite them with pen or type them and keep them in a sort of 'catalogue'. Actually, it's a 3-ring binder that's about 4 inches thick. And in case you're wondering if I've ever had moments when I my mind is blank, the answer is never (well, hardly ever). The fact is my mind has been bombarded with ideas ever since I can remember. I never know what's going to spark my next idea. And I never know when I'm actually going to have time to write, but thank goodness for the 'catalogue'. Over the years my little idea book has gotten crowded, but I don't mind. It just means that I'll always have something to do.