Story Inspiration: Moving In

Posted on October 25, 2018 by SloanParker

I’m thinking this is the first time they’re living together as a couple. They found a new apartment so they could start their life together in a fresh space. They’ve been dating for a year. They met at a club, but now, they aren’t sorry to leave their wilder escapades behind them. They’re looking forward to quiet nights spent together, curled up on the couch watching Netflix. After they get settled in, they’ll get a dog. A rescue from a local shelter. Then six months later, they’ll get another. Their couch will be filled with four warm bodies, all cuddled together. But first… they have to head to the store to pick out the couch. Maybe after one more snuggle in their brand new apartment.

Story Inspiration: Guys in Cars

Posted on March 15, 2018 by SloanParker

You all know I love visuals when it comes to daydreaming new story ideas. I can’t pass up thinking through the backstory behind a picture, wondering what had just happened to that person, what they could be thinking about, and what will happen next for them. Here are some of my recent photo finds:

Embed from Getty Images

If you can’t see the embedded images above, check out the original post on my blog.

The Mind of a Writer

Posted on August 14, 2013 by SloanParker

While taking my daily walks this past week, I noticed two swans had moved into my neighborhood. They do everything together. Fly, bathe, swim, groom. Admittedly I know next to nothing about the life of swans. (Although I do believe they can form life-long monogamous pair bonds and are fiercely protective of their nests. My hon was even chased by one as a kid.)

As I watched these swans, I found myself asking question after question.

Will they stay here? Or is this a stopover for them? How long have they been together? What will happen if one of them passes away?

I’m walking and thinking. My mind pondering the past and future of these swans.

More walking, more thinking.

Of course, like I’ve always done since I was a kid, if I don’t know something, I make up my own story for it.

Now these swans each have a tragic backstory that led them to the moment they met. I know how long they’ve been together and that one is older than the other. I know how many obstacles they had to overcome to get to this peaceful, contented place they now live.

Then I stopped, stared at the swans, and laughed at myself. I could’ve been pondering and plotting my next book. But noooo… I’m dreaming up stories for two swans. Swans!

Thus goes the mind of a writer, a daydreamer.