Inspiration Is Everywhere

Pay attention, and you’ll find it.

In April 2023, I spent a lot of time writing in my favorite place in Miami: Books & Books in Coral Gables.

Working in a bookshop isn’t new for me, but this one felt different—part bookstore, part town square. A literary hub with coffee, conversation, and characters. That month, it was buzzing with even more creative energy during the O, Miami Poetry Festival.

Inside, poets were “in residence,” asking patrons if they wanted a poem written for them. They handed out slips of paper with questions like:

“Who is the poem for?”

“What are you looking to gain from the poem?”

I didn’t hesitate.

I’d been stuck in a story—rewriting the same paragraph five, maybe six times an hour.

So, on my slip, I wrote that I was in a transitional chapter (both in my book and in my life) and I needed something to help me keep going.

Thirty minutes later, the poet returned with this answer:

Inspiration is everywhere.
If you take the time to look… with wonder.

That one line shifted something.

It helped me finish the scene. More than that, it reminded me why I write at all.

As writers, we’re trained to seek the perfect sentence, the perfect structure, and the perfect idea. But sometimes, what we really need is to remember that stories are happening around us all the time. Whether you’re at a poetry festival in a sun-drenched bookstore, or just sitting at home, wondering what comes next.

Inspiration is everywhere.

We just have to be open enough to see it.

What’s the most unexpected place you’ve found inspiration? I'd love to hear.