What Influences My Writing?

There are many things that influence my writing, but I thought I would use this post to describe a specific situation that has inspired a few ideas.

A friend invited me out for a drink so we could have a catch up. I accepted happily; I knew a place that not only did two-for-one cocktails, but also the best calamari.

So last night, I met Jay at her house and we made our way into Swindon. But instead of going to the calamari serving establishment, we ended up in the queue for one of those new ‘fashionable’ bars.

Even from the outside, I could hear the pulse of the dance music that I loathe. I immediately wanted to leave and go somewhere quieter. Jay insisted that we get a drink and stay.

We stayed for an hour, and in that hour, we barely spoke to each other. We couldn’t hear anything that the other said and it soon became too much effort to even try and have a conversation.

So instead of talking to my friend and discussing summer plans, as I had thought we would do, I ended up watching people and thinking about the stories I could create for them.

This disastrous night out has influenced the beginning of a short story and has even helped me with a scene I was considering using in a future assignment – so maybe it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

...And what I wanted.

What Jay wanted...