When You Feel Inspired do You Stop Wonder Why?

Want – a completed novel. Have – a blank page.

Okay, a blank Word document to be absolutely accurate, but the result is the same – panic. At least I am my own publisher, so there is no third party imposed deadline adding to the pressure. But, I am a tough task master and I am lucky enough that my fabulous fans are demanding the next book. The novel must be written.

Creative people need constant inspiration. Social media is flooded with inspirational quotes, and countless books and podcasts exist to assist in finding inspiration, tap into creativity, think outside the box. Even I have blogged about the book that helped me tap into my creativity, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.

Thinking outside the Factory?

Last week, I discovered the most unlikely inspiration I could have imagined – the Bush’s Beans factory. No, that was not a typo. I was driving in rural Tennessee, heading for my writing retreat in North Carolina. Lulled into a peaceful state of mind by the routine of driving, suddenly, out of nowhere, this enormous – and I mean gargantuan – factory was before me for as far as the eye could see.

Talk about out of place. The bucolic area was small farms, mountain vistas and twisting two-lane roads, no place for a semi to be traveling. Yet, there it was, gleaming white, trucks queued at the loading dock, cars filling the parking lot and buildings sprawling in all directions.

To say it took me by surprise is an understatement. I caught a glimpse of the General Store and was reminded that this was a family owned business. The family was from Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, started the business in 1908 and that is where they have stayed.

You can learn about their more than 100 year history on their website, or by stopping in their visitor center. I could not get the damn factory out of my head. For the next forty-eight hours, all I could think of was the novel forming in my brain around that factory in the middle of nowhere.

Inspiration Defined

[clickToTweet tweet=”Inspiration comes in many forms, but I never would have imagined mine coming from a bean factory. Finding inspriration at www.madisonmichael.net/inspired” quote=”Inspiration comes in many forms, but I never would have imagined mine coming from a bean factory.”]

Inspiration comes in many forms, but I never would have imagined mine coming from a bean factory.The definition of inspiration is “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative” or “a person or thing that inspires”. There was no doubt about it, I was mentally stimulated and the thing that did it was the Bush’s Beans factory.

The story percolated in my brain, fitting easily into The B&B Billionaire Romance Series I am currently writing. After all, someone who owned a factory that big, who inherited a family business that had grown exponentially over time, well, that owner would have to be a billionaire for sure. And the beautiful vistas of Tennessee and North Carolina are prime real estate for vacationers who might want to spend time in a lovely B&B.

The Birth of the Bean Story

The working title, “Temptation & Tomatoes,” will have to change, but in just a few days a story has developed and become a Word document. It isn’t completely finished – but the personalities and back stories of the main characters exist and a general plot has emerged.

I am excited about building this novel, but I feel a tiny bit foolish admitting it was inspired by Bush’s Beans factory. Then I realized it is not the factory per se. It is the unusual. Something I did not expect to see filled my vision and burrowed deep into my imagination.

Creativity can certainly be triggered by the unexpected. When I remember that, the factory seems less strange as a story trigger. On the other hand, the everyday, my job of helping out at the local B&Bs, set the entire series in motion.

The lesson I learned – be open. Welcome whatever comes my way. I might see a story and the end of the blank page.

If you want to get a head start on the B&B Billionaire Romance Series, the first book, Desire & Dessert, will be available in May in The Billionaire’s Club collection. Available for pre-order now.

 

 

What to Read Next

This week’s recommendation comes to you via Mistress Book Lover, a friend of mine on Goodreads and a prolific reader. We became friends recently and she has fueled my reading frenzy with some great recommendations. One that caught my eye is currently FREE on Amazon, making it doubly appealing. Amethyst by Lauren Royal, caught my eye on BookBub as a standout to read next. Mistress Book Lover thought so too. It seems both of us are recommending Amethyst this week for what to read next. 

Contest of the Week

In Bedazzled, the first of the Beguiling Bachelor Series, Sloane is in an on-again, off-again engagement with our hero, Wyatt Lyons Howe, IV. But we learn how they met in a different book. Where did they meet and what book tells us that?
1/ Kellogg Business School – Bewildered
2/ The Howe Art Museum – Beholden
3/ The Children’s Hospital Fundraiser – Bedeviled
4/ A blind date – Bewildered

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. This weeks prize is an Ebook of All you need is Love. It features Tuesday’s Guest Adriana Kraft, last Tuesday’s Guest Author Izzy Szyn, and bunch more fabulous stories 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway