Where do you get your inspiration?

How much time do you have? The short answer: Everything inspires me. The real answer: This is a hard question to answer directly. I don’t always know what my inspiration is for writing a certain book or creating a certain character—that’s what makes inspiration different from facts or ideas. Sometimes inspiration just comes out of nowhere! I carefully observe the world around me, then I translate the most compelling things I’ve seen and experienced into stories. This does not mean I write about things that really happen. I use my imagination A LOT. My imagination is my best tool for being creative, and it works best when I feel inspired. I am inspired by people I meet, things I’ve seen and done in the past, my own feelings and fantasies about things that could happen, and much, much more.