It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.
To visit the IWSG website, click here.
To become a member of the IWSG, click here.
Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are
Stop by their posts and thank them for hosting.
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Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's optional question is:
Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?
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Happy June, Everyone!
I hope that you have had a happy, healthy, and fulfilling May!
I'm late posting today ~ We flew in late yesterday afternoon after six nights in Vegas.
Six nights without a computer for me. That was a challenge!
Vegas Vickie in CIRCA
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
January 11, 2026
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
This month's question asks if most of my story ideas come from one place
(the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?
Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, my stories are usually drawn from my life.
Typically it is a landscape that inspires me,
and it's the struggle of the people who live in that setting that fascinates me.
Although I have spent much of my adult life in urban settings,
my mind keeps returning to places where people live close to the land
and their lives are heavily influenced by their physical environment.
Setting for My Memoir
My brother Roy and I
Paddling on Lake Attawaspiskat
Lansdowne House, Ontario, Canada
Early Spring, 1961
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Setting for Several of My Newfoundland Stories
The Site of One of the Worst US Naval Disasters of World War II:
the Wrecks of the USS Truxtun,
the USS Pollux, and the USS Wilkes
on and around Chambers Cove in Newfoundland.
Setting for My IWSG Anthology Short Story
"Dare, Double Dare" in Voyagers: The Third Ghost
Smith's Cove and North Mountain, Nova Scotia, Canada
EPSON MFP Image ~ Source Unknown
I'm looking forward to seeing what inspires our other members.
If you are also a member of our Facebook Group,
I invite you to visit and to provide a link to your IWSG post.
Facebook members are invited to answer our June question too.
Take care!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Copyright ©2026 – All rights reserved.
My next post will be Friday, June 12th. 🤞
Just so you know, I monitor my comments before publishing them. This means your comment won't appear immediately. I will not publish mean spirited or commercial comments.
Live a life right and you have a lot to draw from!
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Alex! All the best to you!
DeleteThat makes sense. You have a lot of life experiences to draw on too.
ReplyDeleteAnything and everything can set an idea off for me. Sometimes just a word and poof...song idea. Another time kids say something and poof...book idea. Just can be anything and onward i go.
Hopefully you had a good time and are resting up with no more tripping.
You're the most prolific of idea generators I've come across, Pat! No more tripping, for sure! I don't want to experience that again. 😂. We had a blast in Vegas. I hope all is well with you!
DeleteThat's fun seeing where you set your IWSG story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane!
DeleteHow fascinating - landscape inspiring stories. I think you're the only one who answered the June question with such a unique answer. At least, the only one among the posts I've read today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Olga! I think I'm so connected to landscapes because I lived in some very unique and isolated areas when I was growing up.
DeleteI love that you have pictures to go with the setting idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jamie. I love photography as much as writing. All the best to you!
DeleteThat's the thing about full lives, they give you inspiration!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Shannon! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteI take a lot of inspiration from my life and the people in it, too. Luckily, we're not stuck with teh pure facts, though. We can use the heart, but change the circumstances and details. @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
Very true, Samantha. I am drawn to writing a lot of non-fiction. Happy June to you!
DeleteHi, Louise! The Newfoundland setting is so stunning--no wonder it inspires stories.
ReplyDeleteThat Chambers Cove setting haunts me, Jennifer. I have crawled to the pinnacle of that cliff and lay on my belly peering over the edge. It is truly a storied place.
DeleteWelcome back! Hope you had a nice time.
ReplyDeleteThe best, Yvonne. Thanks!
DeleteDear Louise, thank you so much for sharing, and I love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. It was a total getaway. I hope you are enjoying your week!
DeleteI think it's cool that you base your stories on your life and can then access real settings that you have photos for and so on. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yvette! I'm highly visual, and my photos are my writer's notebook. Have a lovely June!
DeleteVisiting from IWSG. I love your being inspired by nature settings. That's a good way ... 'I wonder what happened here?' or 'If those hills could talk' are good inspiration for me as well.
ReplyDeleteEvery landscape has stories to tell. I'm rereading the LOTR trilogy right now. Tolkien is a master at creating landscapes and showing their impact on his story. He definitely influenced me. All the best to you!
DeleteThe best stories often seem rooted in place, and your connection to landscapes and the people shaped by them gives your writing a depth and authenticity that no amount of imagination alone can replicate.
ReplyDeleteYour comment made my day, Roentare! Thank you!
Delete...Louise, I hope that you had or are having a great time in Sin City!
ReplyDeleteI had the best time, Tom! I've never gone to Vegas and not had a good time.
DeleteI hope you had a fun trip. It's great that you can draw on your life (and travels) for ideas for your stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Natalie! Terry and I had lots of fun. I've never been very good at writing about places and things I haven't experienced. I can people them with fictitious characters, but I have this need to be grounded in reality. Happy June, Natalie!
DeleteThose pictures are so evocative of the stories they inspired. Thank you for including them and reminding me of how our own histories (whether acknowledged or not) and where we've been inspire our writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beth. I appreciate your kind and understanding words!
DeleteWhen I'm making up stories in my head which I never write, they all happen at the lake, maybe with a side trip somewhere else! Happy week and welcome home from Vegas!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeanie! I'm still making the rounds. 😂 Maybe you should write down one of your stories!!!
DeleteGreat places to inspire stories--and starting from the landscape should help to have the setting really be part of the story!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca! My way into stories is almost always through settings. Have an awesome June, my friend!
DeleteLandscapes can be so inspiring, especially ones that are hostile and you wonder how the heck anyone ever thought it was a good idea to live there.
ReplyDeleteNo kidding! All the best to you in June, Kate!
DeleteVegas! How fun! I love that you’re inspired by landscapes. A setting can almost become another character if we breathe enough life into it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Vegas is fun, Kim! I always think of setting as a foundational character. All the best to you!
DeleteMy stories and essays come from life, too, Louise. I always love reading of your many adventures. Glad you had a computer break in Las Vegas. You deserve it! Enjoy your summer.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria! You're the best! ❤️🌺❤️
DeleteHi Louise, glad you are back. I know you had a good time in Vegas. I love that photo of you and your brother paddling. No adults, no one looking after the two of you. Just you and your brother having a day. I like your inspiration photos too. Have a good day today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole! I loved that freedom in the North. Kids rarely, if ever, experience that today. That isolation made us very close. I would wish that for every child. Much love to you!
DeleteThose are some nice photos. My stories come from life too like I believe all stories do in some sense. Only, in my fiction stories i give those experiences from life a fantastical twist.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you, Steven. I wish I could let go in a fantasy world. Happy creating in June!
DeleteDear Louise 🥰
ReplyDeleteI am happy you had good time in Vegas and returned home safely now by the grace of God🙏
I enjoyed your response thoroughly and I could relate to it easily. It’s because like you,nature ,people and their struggles are my inspiration too .i too just like you keep returning to my native homeland and feel that it’s my greatest strength for writing.
Images you shared reflect your feelings beautifully.
Stay blessed and enjoy the beautiful season my friend ♥️🙏
Baili, you are such a blessing in my life! I am so lucky to have met you. Love to you and your loved ones!
DeleteI love this post and glad you shared it with FFO. Have a very nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nicole! I hope that you are having a nice weekend too! ❤️🌺❤️
DeleteGood response to the challenge!-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christine! Happy June to you!
DeleteThanks for sharing where your ideas come from. I loved reading this post. Take special care.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandra! Wishing you the best!
DeleteThe picture of you and your brother looks quite peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peppy! I have the best brother whom I love dearly. Have an awesome week!
DeleteSo you did enjoy the break! Me too---can't live without a computer. The world around us is indeed the best source of inspiration as writers.
ReplyDeleteHave a great June!
Yes, I enjoyed my break, Rida! You always inspire me! Happy creating! ❤️❤️❤️
DeleteI too depend on my life situations to write stories. I think most writers are "people watchers." I hope you are feeling better. That sounds like a big fall. Take it easy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, JQ! I'm doing MUCH better ~ just a few bruises and sore spots left. My guardian angel was looking after me. Happy creating in June!
DeleteWow, 6 nights in Vegas! I'm usually sick of the place after 3 nights. I hope you had a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteI did, Janet! Thank you! I've been going to Vegas for almost 53 years, and I always had a good time. All the best to you!
Delete