What’s the number one question a writer gets asked in every interview and at every book signing? “Where do you get your ideas?”

Like most writers, I have trouble pinpointing exactly when, and to what object of interest, my muse first drew my attention for any single given story or project. Some narrative seeds were planted in the soil years ago, fully outlined and conceptualized (or so I thought), only to sprout years later into something remarkably unlike what I first expected to grow. Others come to me half-formed, and like a mad scientist I dissect them, dismember them, add new parts and toss out old ones, until something strange and fully formed emerges from the chaos.

I remember that the film Donnie Darko was the main source of my inspiration for writing “Escapement.” After watching it over and over again in vain attempts to uncover all of its secrets, I was left with a head full of spare parts—clocks that didn’t tell time, dreams that weren’t dreams (or were they?), a dark world in which fate could be delayed, but never escaped. “Escapement” was my attempt to build something vaguely coherent out of those parts.

The Harbinger’s Head, on the other hand, was born gradually, over the course of a lifetime of reading old fairy tales (and lots of Neil Gaiman books), watching The Storyteller and other fantasy shows and films, and dreaming of visiting the Emerald Isle. Writing The Harbinger’s Head was, in many ways, my chance to explore old Ireland and the realm of Faerie in my own weird way—and to let my readers explore on their own terms as well.

Some of my favorite places to look for inspiration, when it’s being stubborn and won’t come of its own accord, include:

• Books, of course. I wouldn’t be a writer if I didn’t first fell in love with reading. I mostly read what I write—fantasy and other speculative fiction—but I also enjoy branching out into other genres, including historical works, travel guides, biographies, and more.
• Movies and TV are great for when your eyes are sore after hours of reading. Seriously though, when done right, film narratives can pack a powerful punch. Bonus: they’re good resources for studying dialogue and thinking about the physical spaces in which your stories take place.
• Art and history are two more obvious answers. I like to go foraging on Pinterest for new painters and photographers to follow from time to time, and I keep an eye on social media feeds like The Vintage News and History in Pictures and make a note of anything that strikes my fancy. The stranger, the better.
• Music, of course, can provide a soundtrack to your writing as well as inspire new projects. While I rarely get story ideas from songs, I tend to pick out songs while I write that reflect the mood or setting I’m aiming to depict. The music, in turn, tends to add its own flavor to my descriptions
• Video games sometimes spark an idea, or at least teach me something about how I might present an existing idea in a new light. The Last Guardian, for instance, taught me a lot about how to create intense empathy for creature characters—even nonverbal, “man-eating” beasties like Trico—and when it comes to making monsters, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look often look to the master of video game horror, Hideo Kojima, for a little guidance.

Of course, inspiration is infamously flighty and difficult to predict—it can appear anywhere, at any time, for any reason or none at all. I’ve had ideas in the shower, on a walk in the park, while scanning the news, even during conversations at parties. The important thing isn’t really knowing where to find it, but how to recognize it and what to do with it once it does appear—a magic trick I’m still learning, myself