Originality by Design: Finding Inspiration ~ Elle Rush

Finding Inspiration ~ Elle Rush

Like many of us, I spent part of my social distancing time giving the house a really good cleaning. I even reorganized the storage room, except this time instead of moving my box marked “Childhood Treasures” from one place to another, I decided to open it.

Oh, past me, you have me shaking my head.

I remembered the stuffed animals, and who gave them to me, and I’m keeping them all. To let you know how old some of them are, the green pig is named “Green Pig” because he’s been around since before I knew how to name things, and the AM-radio raccoon was named “Racky”. Obviously, I’ve learned how to pick better names since then.

The wee table and chairs still make me smile. I never had any dolls small enough to use it, but how can I not love it! I would move the chairs around for invisible characters, and sip from the cups, and have engrossing conversations with myself. I’ve written for as long as I can remember, and I think this toy set is part of the reason.

I remember pre-teen me thinking folding fans were so terribly elegant.

And the owl nightlight chased away nightmares for my entire childhood. Now that I’ve dusted off those memories, perhaps they may appear in a character’s room sometime.

I have NO excuses as to why a photocopy of remote-control instructions and line-dancing VHS tape made it into the box. None!

And if ever I did consider them treasures, the reason has long since faded from my mind. But they were a hilarious find.

Inspiration fades, but when it comes to the things that truly impacted your life, I think it never truly disappears. You can’t hold on to all the mementos from your past, but a handful of ones that truly lighten your heart shouldn’t be hidden away in a box in the attic. Try to find a way to keep them out so you can see and appreciate the things that turned you into the amazing person you’ve become.

Elle Rush is a sweet romance author from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. When she’s not travelling, she’s hard at work writing books which are set all over the world. From Hollywood to the house next door, her heroes will make you sigh and her heroines will make you laugh out loud.

Elle has a degree in Spanish and French, barely passed German, and has flunked poetry in every language she ever studied, including English. She also has mild addictions to tea, yarn, her garden, and holiday decorations.