Inspiration

Last Sunday I went and saw one of my favorite writers, one of my inspirations: Neil Gaiman. He's kind of a rock star of the writing world. It was my third time seeing him "live" and for Savannah, my 16-year-old daughter, it was her first.

We didn't get to meet him in person, sadly, but we did get to experience the energy he pumps into a room as he reads from his work or speaks. He was reading from an expanded re-issue of American Gods and talking about where his inspiration came from.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't any one place. American Gods came from a disconnected dialogue in Neil's head, a sleepless night in Reykjavik, a fascination with just how weird America is...and that's just the start of it.

Inspiration is the spark that lights the flame. Inspiration, by its definition, is unexpected, surprising, unplanned, revolutionary. It's sometimes called "divine influence" or "sacred revelation." It rarely comes from a single place, but as Neil pointed out, from a collection of thoughts, memories, events, and people.

Of course, people. Neil talked about often getting inspired by reading fantastically bad fiction, with the thought "I may be writing crap today, but at least I'm better than this."

Writers inspire me. Music inspires me. They inspire me to write, to draw, to design, to create. Here's a few that consistently light the spark in me.

Neil Gaiman inspires me with his imagination and his ability to share it in so many different media.

Rachael Yamagata inspires me with her voice, her insights into the human heart, and her willingness to "go there"...wherever there may be.

Stephen King inspires me with his natural writing style and his way with characters.

Trespassers William inspire me with unearthly, soulful, haunting music.

And John Green - John's the kind of writer I'd like to be, someone who's connected to his audience and who clearly loves what he does. It shines through when he talks about it and it beams out of his books. The man just loves to write. And he inspires others.

Just yesterday, John announced the title of his newest book, due out in 2012: The Fault In Our Stars. The title is a take on a Shakespeare quote from Julius Caesar, and as the book doesn't have a cover yet, John gave his readers a chance to try their hand at making covers for him.

I couldn't resist. Mine is below. And here's everyone else's. Inspiration comes in many forms. Thank goodness for that!