I often find that I write from bursts of inspiration. What does that look like? Well, for example, the only poem that I have published at the time of this writing (July 2022), "In Memory of the Abandoned Biscuits and Gravy", was writtten after I had to leave the cafeteria when a smoke alarm was set off. I had to leave my biscuits and gravy behind and because that was one of the only breakfasts I had in that semester up to that point, I kept thinking about that breakfast for the rest of the day, to the point that I decided that the best way to get it off my mind was to memoralize it in a poem, so I did just that.
Sometimes my inspiration comes from conversations that I have with friends. We don't even have to be talking about writing itself; one time I drew inspiration from a conversation about the climate in my home state as compared to the climate in a friend's home state. Sometimes, it's just the act of talking about possible stories that helps to fuel my writing. Last fall, I discussed with another of my friends the idea of a story of an inn which had named rooms. Each of the rooms in the story would get their name from and be haunted by an inn guest who died in that room. After that discussion, I did not go off and start outlining the story we had just discussed, but I did go make progress on the story I am working on, which has nothing to do with ghost-haunted inns!
I also get inspiration from getting together with friends for express purpose of writing, as I did intentionally for the first time in a creative writing club while I was in college. I said at the beginning of this post that I get my inspiration mostly in bursts, and that was true even back when I could go to scheduled meetings where I could write in a group setting. In anticipation of those meetings, I would think about my writing, and so by the time I went to the meeting each week, my mind was primed and ready to release that burst of inspiration that had been building in my mind. I don't think I ever produced any writing of tremendous quality in those meetings, but the seeds of inspiration were planted and I was able to begin (or continue) rough drafts of pieces that I later polished into pieces that I felt were worth the effort it took to produce them.
Together, these pieces contribute to what I like to think of as my "patchwork" of inspiration. They are each an essential part of what can go into my writing and help to make it unique to me. If you write, let me know in a comment what goes into your "patchwork" of inspiration!