Is there a story that has left such an impact on you that you can’t stop thinking about? What is it about that story, its characters, plot, and setting that’s so appealing to you? Write about that until you can’t stop!

A good way to get inspiration is by dissecting your favourite stories and pick apart what you like about it, and even things you don’t like about it. Try to see what excites you the most and figure out why.

Maybe the characters behave in ways similar to yourself, or you’ve found yourself in similar situations, or you even consider wishing you could live in the fictional setting the story takes place in.

Whatever the case may be write as much as you can about your experience with this story. Go in so far as to recite certain instances where a plot twist or special moment gave you an involuntary reaction of either shock, joy, or even sadness.

As you write about your thoughts and feelings about this story, you are priming yourself for writing in ways similar to your favourite writers and thus increasing your chances of impacting your future audience in powerful ways as well.

Or if you’re a private writer who only writes for themselves you can still borrow from your favourites the same way and increase the joy and entertainment you give yourself when you write.

Here are some questions to consider when dissecting your favourite stories:

1. How do I feel when I experience this story? Why?

2. When do I feel the most immersed by it? Why?

3. What do I wish was different in the story? How would that improve the story?

4. What do I think is perfect in the story? Why?

5. Who are my favourite and least favourite characters? What is it about them that inspires me or cause any other emotional response?

These are just a few to consider as I don’t want to overwhelm you with even more of what I ask myself when I dissect my favourite stories. I trust in the creativity and ingenuity of writers to think of their own questions unique to their value systems.

But in the end the most question I would ask is: what does this story mean to you?

If you can’t or don’t answer any other question, this is the vital one to keep in mind as it opens the avenue for even more thoughts that inspire your creativity and capacity to impact others.