Real talk – what inspires you?

With the release of the official book trailer for sci-fi debut Apex Five, I’d like to ask you all a question:

Are you an artist, an engineer, a waiter, a police officer…perhaps more than one of the above? For those of you who enjoy your work or indulge in hobbies (perhaps your work is your hobby), I want to know what motivates you.

For creatives in particular, what aspects of your daily life fuel your art? This is an interesting question for those familiar with the writing adage: Better not anger an author, lest they make you a character in one of their stories!

It’s very true though. While only one or two people from real life have ever inspired characters in my books, I acknowledge that the clash of civilizations faced by the five nations in my sci-fi debut “Apex Five” stems largely from the Israel-Palestine conflict, a long-standing dilemma in which I have personal ties and believe both parties deserve equal voice. This situation comes to life anew in the perpetual land dispute between the fictional Garo and Lirians.

The second greatest source of real-life inspiration would be the struggle of indigenous peoples amidst colonization, namely the Native Americans and Aboriginal people of Australia, reflected in fictional Tabir subjugation of the rainforest tribes of Ayam. While neither conflict exactly mirrors their sources in reality, the inspiration comes from a need to tell each story from a fresher, one would hope less biased perspective, especially for those readers unfamiliar with one or both situations.

So now I’m curious – of all you artists and worldbuilding writers out there, what real-life aspects inspire your work and how so?