WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM? #001, in a series

I'm often asked where my ideas come from. It's not unusual for me to be working on multiple projects (while working hard to finish off one that's almost complete), and I never seem to run out of ideas. While it's easy to say, "Read widely," or "Read in areas you don't normally read," or something like that, I decided it's easier to show what I mean...

WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM #001: THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC????

Don't knock it until you've tried it. The National Geographic is filled with exploration, precarious situations, dangerous creatures that are all too real. Overall, though, it is about people from different pockets of our planet. Here are a Baker's dozen (thirteen) lines ripped from various issues, to get your creative juices flowing:

1. It was white-knuckle time.
2. We ask about that story and are met with a stony silence.
3. The vehicles reminded me of a wolf pack, sniffing the wind for prey.
4. It all came too quickly, many say.
5. "We owe them something."
6. "This is my chance not to feel helpless," he says.
7. "No one knows why," I say. It's the only answer I can give them right now.
8. "I've been doing these things since I was 14."
9. "People love to watch this," she says. "But not many want to do it."
10. It disappeared into the thick brush on the right.
11. They come in the night.
12. "Brace yourself."

And an extra:  "The day I drove away, I peered through the dusty window of my Jeep and saw them waving."

NOW: Take action! Choose your favorite prompt from above and do some freewriting with it. See where it takes you...don't wait--do it NOW!