Real Life Inspiration While Writing

I posted a super funny, to me, meme on our author Facebook page earlier this week about pulling real life inspirations into our novel. It makes me giggle because my brother’s name is Isaac. #sorryyouhadtodie 

But it got me thinking about how often I use real life scenarios in my work. Do I do it a lot? Is it conscious on my end?  The answer is, as so many are in life, yes and no. 

When coming up with names of characters, possibly one of the most stressful parts to me personally, I shied away from names of people I knew. It’s inevitable, especially with a writing partner, that a name you would not have chosen is in the mix, however. If there’s no reasonable objection (and believe me, some names were rejected with prejudice), there’s no harm/no foul with naming characters.

I have found with scenes, or conversations within scenes, that I like to pull what’s happened or happening in my real life as inspiration. Writer's block is real, and I like to run through my day or what is going on in my life to pull something out of me that’s easy to write. Whether or not that part stays or ends up on the cutting block is another matter, but at least I’m writing. If you’re a writer or creator half the battle is just DOING IT (we'll fix it in post).

Yours, Always

Rachael

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Here’s an excerpt from our upcoming debut novel Yours, Always releasing September 26th, 2023 at all major ebook retailers.

Greyson took another bite of the apple and ducked his six-foot-three-inch frame so he could see himself in the entryway mirror. He assessed his movie star profile as he ran a hand through jet-black hair and squinted his eyes that were such a striking shade of jade, they would make the whole Shang Dynasty weep. 

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall.” He quirked a smile that showed his one right-side dimple then brought his hand up to his chiseled jaw, his day-old scruff making a scratching sound. “I hope this wasn’t poisoned,” he muttered, eyeing the apple as he turned and made his way up the stairs. He didn’t think Nadia would resort to poisoning to keep him in California, but he was starting to second-guess her motives as of late—running him ragged up to the Verity Award nominations and wanting to keep him on a trajectory that was exhausting both physically and mentally. A much-needed nap sounded like a good idea, though. Pulling off his shirt, Greyson lay on his bed and stretched, pondering how Nadia had got the starlet of the moment to agree to attend functions with him. The promise of a night with the action hero? He wondered if he should feel more used. 

As easy as it was to have a new girl almost every night, his thoughts went to his best friend, Prudence Hardwick—as they often did in situations like these—remembering what it was like to have her on his arm at big events. If he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t just for the glitz and glamor that he wanted her to share these moments with him. Sure, they had phone calls, video chats and texting, but that wasn’t the same as having her with him, in his home, in his life. Ugh, in my bed. He shook his head. They’d been friends since kindergarten, never as a couple, but lately his thoughts of her had been so carnal they made even him blush. He’d long ago locked away any desire for her, but something inside him was forcing that door back open and he was tired of holding it shut. The pull that he’d always had toward her had become so strong lately that he couldn’t stop imagining every aspect of his life with her. He needed to go home, back to Amber Falls, back to Prudence. I need to see her. He drifted off to sleep with Prudence on his mind.