This might be surprising for some, but children are a great source of inspiration for me. Not my adult stories, of course, but my enjoyment in creating and telling stories. I started young, not with the writing, but with the making up stories. Even though we had enough toys, we had more fun making up games than using them correctly. Such as skateboards. We didn't know how to skateboard, not one bit, but we sure had fun playing with them. From that experience I came up with a quote and even had someone ask permission to use it, which was neat. The quote is:
And even now I think this is true. With all the toys children have, the electronics and computer stuff along with the other toys, an imagination makes things even better. I noticed this with my cousins.
We write books but they are more than a source of story telling for kids. They can make games with the books, much like they can make games with the box the toy came from. My little cousins were using the books as stepping blocks. The red book was blood and if they stepped on it they would die. The green one was hay (as they were horses and unicorns) and the book with Mickey Mouse and the Giant was where the monster lived.
It's amazing what kids can do with their imagination and I think what helps us writers is that we maintain some of that imagination. Some say it is gone with age, but for those that are "creative" it is still a part of our lives. Maybe some people can "stay gold" after all.
