probably my most consistent source of 'inspiration' (trust me, being a hack, in my case that word deserves to be in quotes) comes from music. i've been told time and time again that i've got a very visual sense of storytelling, which is fortunate because that's my goal.
that's probably also why i like a lot of classical music and rock 'n roll, one has got the energy i like without being quite so directionless as thrash and the other tells a story with music that i dig. if i have a dream i might incorporate it into a story, but typically it's not the story itself.
i'd heard that if you keep a journal by your bedside and wrote down all you could remember from your dreams the very instant you woke up, you'd start to remember more and more. well, it started to work, which wasn't a good thing, lol. apparently, i've got some pretty messed up dreams, ones worth forgetting, so i quickly decided it best to let dreams remain forgotten lest i lose my sanity, occassionally deriving what i could from the errant ones that slip by (i've got good dreams, too, of course, but those aren't the ones that woke me up, lol). as a source of inspiration, dreams are good, but i can't say i'll ever go back to well on purpose ever again. think about it: would you really want to remember every dream you had? you probably don't.
a good book is another awesome source of story ideas. i love books of facts and history, lost artefacts and treasure, ghost stories (non-fiction) and things like alchemy and pirate legend.
