What inspires you?

We begin this May's blogathon with one word: INSPIRATION.

It's the theme I've chosen for this year's WordCount Blogathon for one reason: I'm always looking for it.

Aren't you?

Don't you wake up every morning wondering what new projects you'll be assigned, what new taste you might enjoy, what new scent you might discover, perhaps because someone you know spritzed a little of it on before leaving her house to visit you? Don't you wake up with the knowledge that you're going to be introduced to something new--and you can't wait to find out what it is?

If I don't wake up with this kind of wonder, I certainly find my way there at some point during my day. Ever curious, I want to know things. I want to understand them. I ask a lot of questions. This is most certainly why writing became my career.

Having said that, because I just returned home on Tuesday night after spending a week in New York City, mingling with other writers like myself, exploring the city on foot and by Subway train, and otherwise expanding my horizons by seeing the world from other people's perspectives, I came home exactly as I'd hoped: inspired.

I was inspired by my friend Teresa's idea to write about umbrellas. As the rain came falling down on top of ours, together, we came up with ways she could make her story interesting to an audience. When it appears in print (online or otherwise), I hope she'll send me the link, as I'd love to read the end result.

I was inspired by my other friend's desire to plan a dinner party with a small group of writers, just so we could experience his friend's magic tricks live, up close and in person. I've never had as much fun dining out with writer friends as I had that evening. I still cannot figure out how the magician got that 20 dollar bill into that lemon. It amazes me still.

And I'm inspired to take on this Blogathon for the third year in a row. It's energizing, and it gives me the opportunity to get to know my writer friends better.

I'm looking forward to what Michelle Rafter has in store for all of us participants, and I'll share the full list with you tomorrow. But for now, I want to know what inspires you?

I asked this question on Twitter this afternoon, and here's what a few of you had to say:

"Arizona inspires me--just being outside and seeing mountains, blue skies, cacti...," wrote Christine Bailey of Tempe, Ariz.

"What inspires me is the simple joy of babies & puppies," wrote Robin Reynolds also of Tempe.

And Andrew G. Hayes of Edinburg, Scotland is inspired by his readers at Sharing Travel Experiences. "When your community makes you cry," he says, "you know you are on the right path."

For this next month, we'll be focusing on that which inspires. It might be the desert or a mountain landscape, it might be a baby's tiny hand reaching out to you, it might be a man who can make you cry. Whatever it is, it's worth exploring. By the end of May, you'll know why.

(Above photo of Greer, Ariz., taken by Jackie Dishner)