Seeking Inspiration – Find The Spark That Ignites Your Story Into Lift Off!

with guest blogger Kate Breslin.


Hello Seekerville, thank you so much inviting me to be a guest blogger today! With a third book release recently under my belt, I thought I’d share with you the ways in which I find that (sometimes elusive) spark of inspiration. For writers, it’s a little how-to, mixed with a bit of interesting history for our readers, and I hope something all can use. 
—Kate 

“Seeking Inspiration – Find The Spark That Ignites Your Story Into Lift Off!”

So, you’re going to write a romance novel. Maybe this is your first endeavor or you’re embarking on the next book for your publisher. So…where to start?

Girl Typing-Circa 1912

As an author of historical romantic fiction, I usually find my story inspiration by reading history books, biographies, or watching BBC. The “spark” for my first novel, For Such A Time, came while reading the Bible’s Book of Esther and realizing that the Jews had been persecuted throughout history. Moved by their suffering, I thought about the most recent atrocity—the Holocaust of WWII—and began to wonder how I might parallel Queen Esther’s love story into a concentration camp setting. 

With Not By Sight, the spark ignited as I watched an episode of Masterpiece Theater’s Downton Abbey. Two WWI suffragettes had crashed Lord Crawley’s Soldier Benefit, handing out white feathers of cowardice to men out of uniform. As I saw the young footman take a feather, knowing he would be shamed into enlisting and the price he would pay, my heart was touched; I began to envision a costume ball, with a suffragette dressed as Pandora giving her white feather of shame to an aristocrat she believed a coward. Pandora would have no idea this Casanova was a British spy on assignment for the Crown, or that her actions would be far-reaching.

In my new novel, High As The Heavens, inspiration struck as I read about the courageous British nurse, Edith Cavell, who was executed by the Germans as a spy for smuggling wounded Allied soldiers out of occupied Belgium during the First World War. That spark led me to read other stories, about brave civilians who secretly worked to resist the Germans behind enemy lines, and the women who risked all to work as real spies for British intelligence. I began to visualize my British nurse, Evelyn, a spy for the Allies in occupied Brussels and the crashed British flyer she would need to rescue in order to save them both.

Once I’ve found that passionate spark and my story ideas begin to flow, it’s time to launch—or in my case, get organized. If you’re a plotter like me, you probably write an outline before you begin the manuscript. (Pansters, I applaud your ability to simply sit down and let the words fly onto the page.  🙂 In truth, there is no right or wrong way, as everyone’s approach to writing is different. Some even use software to organize their work. Here I’d like to share a tried-and-true method that works best for me.  I start with:

A 3-ring binder and dividers with color tabs. I label each tab with headers, like Synopsis, Character List, Maps, Timeline, and Research (and add sub-tabs for specific subject notes I need for my story.)

Kate’s Story Notebook a.k.a. The Brain Binder

Collecting Data. Research can give me the spark AND helps me to plot my story. Before outlining, I read in-depth and surf the Web, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Maps for my setting, and explore other media to help lay out my storyline and theme. My spiritual thread can occur during this discovery process, or later on as I’m writing. I always pray about it and trust that God will show me the message He wants in my story.)

With hard copy resources, I type up notes, including specific page numbers and insert these into the binder. For online research, I investigate relevant websites, cross-checking my facts, and oftentimes download PDF files. (Old tomes that have been digitalized can be great resources!) I then copy and paste the excerpted notes and URL links into a created Word file for each particular subject. The files are then collected into a Word folder with my story’s working title. 

I might create, for example, a file entitled, “Canaries of WWI,” and copy and paste online photos to go in with my notes. As I’m writing the story, it’s great to have at my fingertips the Word file and just a click I can double-check some fact about these canaries who aren’t really birds at all, but women working in WWI munitions plants. Because they were daily exposed to TNT powder, their skin turned a yellowish hue. Hence the nickname “canaries.”

Munitionettes of WWI Canary Women

Once I’ve perused my notes, I can jump right back into my story window and continue writing. The research files can also be printed and kept in the binder, but I leave a copy on my computer for easy use and in case I need them for my next story. Those who don’t outline first might still find these research files helpful for quick fact-checking as you go.

Time to Launch. My outlines are usually very long, from describing brief action segments to writing fully fleshed-out scenes. They’re not carved in stone, either. I want the freedom to be creative, but having a “road map” for my story helps avoid those unforeseen plot snags later on and it keeps me on task. When the outline is complete, I save two copies—one to revise and synopsize later for my editor, and the other I use as my story’s template. I’ve found I like writing the manuscript within the outline document itself, scene by scene, using different colored fonts to distinguish notes from my unfolding story. I delete the extraneous notes as I go, or save them to a clipboard (I have word separation anxiety 🙂) and once my first draft of the book is finished, it’s revise, revise, revise, before sending to my editor for review.

That’s my process. I hope you find some of this helpful. All fiction research can be organized in this way, and any media used to find that spark. I once wrote contemporary romance (unpublished) and still have a folder of collected newspaper and magazine articles. Since truth is usually stranger than fiction, there is no shortage of good story fodder. Like this grab-phrase from the September, 2013, edition of Popular Science: “World War II Combat Pilots Have Been Lost at the Bottom of the Pacific Ocean For Nearly 70 Years. Now Robots Have Been Deployed To Find Them.” Doesn’t that just make your mind start popping with ideas? 

And here’s a headline from our local newspaper dated March of 1999, “Daughter Brands Dad With Scarlet Letter.” Aren’t you immediately intrigued? A teen girl, after reading Nathanial Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, constructed a giant red “A” from plastic pipe and red garland and placed it on the front lawn of her home after her cheating dad abandoned her and her mother. The dad, desperate to remove the scarlet lawn ornament, was prevented from doing so by a restraining order. Sad circumstances, but I couldn’t help smiling over this young woman’s ingenious pluck and the potential for a story. 

The Bottom Line:  Passion is at the heart of inspiration, and it’s that spark that makes us think, shifting our paradigm and introducing us to new ideas and insight—case in point, the girl who read The Scarlet Letter. She was inspired by Hawthorne’s novel to devise a clever and yes, outlandish way to shame her father for what he’d done.

So writers, what spark ignited your most recent story? And readers, what recent books or film most inspired you? 

 One lucky commenter will win a copy of High as the Heavens! Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

High As The Heavens

A British nurse in WWI German-occupied Brussels, Evelyn Marche spends her days at the hospital and her nights working at a café . . . or so it seems. Eve's most carefully guarded secret is that she also spends her nights carrying out dangerous missions as a spy for a Belgian resistance group.

When a plane crashes as she's en route to a rendezvous, Eve is the first to reach the downed plane and is shocked to recognize the badly injured pilot as British RFC Captain Simon Forrester. She risks her life to conceal him from the Germans, but as the secrets between them grow and the danger mounts, can they still hope to make it out of Belgium alive?


"What a thrill ride! Breslin's latest has non-stop action and intrigue set in the fascinating time period of World War I. The characters are detailed and realistic, reflecting emotions that speak to a broad audience in any era. The storyline is intricately plotted and filled with incredible detail that will keep readers engaged and desperate to know what will happen. The romance is tender and the historical events are captivating, making this a book that is not to be missed." 
----RT Book Reviews TOP PICK!

Former bookseller-turned-author Kate Breslin enjoys life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and family. A writer of travel articles and award-winning poetry, Kate received Christian Retailing's 2015 Best Award for First Time Author and her debut novel, For Such A Time, won the 2015 Carol Award for Debut Novel. Kate's third novel, High As The Heavens released June 6, 2017. When she's not writing inspirational fiction, Kate enjoys reading or taking long walks in Washington's beautiful woodlands. She also likes traveling to new places, both within the U.S. and abroad, having toured Greece, Rome, and much of Western Europe. New destinations make for fresh story ideas. Please visit her at www.katebreslin.com

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