All of us have a 'voice' inside where all inspired thoughts come from. When I talk to children and aspiring writers, I always ask them to turn off the TV and listen to that voice inside them.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Writers do well to carefully attend to those moments of inspiration, because chances are that they're writing from a very deep place. The subsequent search that ensues to continually attend to that voice that you hear is what is going to give the story drive.
A writer has an inescapable voice. I think it's inherent in the nature, and I think that we don't control it anymore than we control what we want to write about.
Writers have to have a knack for listening. I need to be able to hear what is being said to me by the voices I create.
I have my own voice and can focus only on that. I know what I like; I find my inspirations in so many other places than just online and bring that into my work.
You have to believe in yourself and only trust your own vision and instincts. If I'd listened to what other people thought about my work in the first 10 years that I was a writer, I never would have made it to begin with.
Writers are socially observant. We find people endlessly fascinating, and real life is mysterious. Sometimes it's hard to stop staring at the strut and squawk of my fellow man. They can be quite inspiring. Sometimes it's hard to stop talking to them to see what in the world they're thinking.
I don't believe in the model of pure inspiration. All of my creative work stems from a dialogue with others.
I tend to focus on young people and on giving a voice to groups of people who don't normally get their voices heard.
I think writers are observers and watchers. We always have our ears open and eyes open, so I might see something in everyday life that inspires me. And I think that's probably more than anything else. Everyday life is where I get my inspiration.
I'm not one of those authors who claims to hear voices in my head or 'let the characters speak through me,' whatever that might mean.