Finding Inspiration

John Greco
1 min readJul 12, 2024

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Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

A question every fiction author is asked is where do you get your ideas? Many respond with similar answers: the newspapers, life experience, conversations with people or overheard conversations, dreams, TV, movies, books. Sometimes mysteriously an idea pops into your head and you go from there.

I am no different. For example, my story NORMAN (Brooklyn Tales) comes from a true-life incident that happened in Junior High School. It stuck with me and eventually found its way into the story. One note, without giving anything away. The ending of NORMAN is pure fiction. The point is real life incidents can spark a story.

Of course, when taking a story idea from a book or a movie or TV show you cannot just copy the story. Stephen King or any other author would not like that, and you may be sued. The source should spark an idea that goes off in a different direction. Keep it original.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, sometimes from the least expected places. You have to be aware and lock them away (write it down) for future use.

And one other thing…never give up!

Brooklyn Tales and other books are available on Amazon.

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John Greco
John Greco

Written by John Greco

Author of various short story collections including “Transgressions,,” “Brooklyn Tales," "Harbor House," "Dark Secrets," and "The Late Show."

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