Posted on by Sonia Dogra

IWSG MAY- Inspired by The Lottery Ticket!

It’s already the fifth month of the year! Time is like a hundred metre sprint. Today, we plan for tomorrow and before we know it, tomorrow slips into yesterday! It is only when I sit to write the monthly IWSG posts that the briskness of time hits me – specially with regard to my writing goals.

So, welcome to IWSG May’s posting. Today I’m going to add this image from the website that I loved so much, to help us all to keep going. (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

For the new readers of this blog, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a database resource site and support group for writers and authors. Featuring weekly guests and tips, a monthly blogfest gathering, a Facebook group, a book club, and thousands of links – all to benefit writers! Check out their following social media handles to know more.

Website / Facebook Group / Twitter / Book Club
Reedsy Discount / Past Issues

And here is the May 3 question – When you are working on a story, what inspires you?

 The moment I read this question, I was taken to the story of one of my favourite stories – The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov. It traces a day in the life of Ivan Dmitritch, a middle-class man and his wife, who are in possession of a lottery ticket and who happen to notice the number of their series in the day’s newspaper. But even before checking the number of the ticket, they begin to make plans about spending the huge prize money. Do they win the money eventually? No, but the daydreaming causes a dent in the happy, contented lives of the couple.

I read this story pretty late in life, but it took me back to a near similar incident of building castles in air by yours truly, in my early youth. However, unlike Chekhov, I had never imagined that this small, (in)consequential episode of my life could be turned into a deeply reflective story. That day, I learnt that my ordinary life with its routine episodes has so many layers that can be peeled off to reveal something deeper.

I began to reflect on the small things and my not-so-happening/adventurous life and that of people around me turned into inspiration for many of my stories. As anyone who has read me would know that the roots of my writing thrive in the forest of simple living and this is what inspires me.

I am not sure if my interpretation of the question is close to what was asked, but this is the best I could say.

In other news, I have a creative non-fiction in the inaugural issue of The Hooghly Review (a fantastically put-together magazine), which you can read here.

Besides, I have been collecting tons of rejection letters for a flash fiction that is still out there.

We also posted for the WEP prompt ‘Life is Beautiful’ in April and you can read all the entries here.

So, what inspires you when you write a story? Do let me know in the comments below.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Diane Burton, Victoria Marie Lees, and M Louise Barbour! Thank you to each one for hosting.

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27 Replies to “IWSG MAY- Inspired by The Lottery Ticket!”

  1. Hi Sonia, Congratulations on your non-fiction being published. Talking about day-dreaming or wishful thinking, I do it pretty often and I believe there’s no harm in it if it makes you happy.
    Coming to your question, ‘What gets me writing?’, the answer is, sometimes I force myself to write because it’s practice and sometimes the words force themselves out. It’s the only way I can clear my brain or think straight or of other things until I get it out.
    Thank you for this post. It got me thinking why I write. Have a wonderful day!

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  6. Must scavenge some time to read White – Congratulations.
    Layers of time ( and the leaky roof) are being peeled off my house, which is about 400 years old. People lived here for centuries without electricity, never mind broadband. Walking to where my desk is, centuries of feet have worn a dent in the flagstone floor.
    Inspirational ? Hope so,.

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  7. First of all, congratulations on your story in Hoogly Review. I could clearly visualise the scene at the hospital and it broke my heart. Yes, white signifies purity, but it lacks life, I feel.
    I loved how you described life, a forest of simple living that inspires you in your writing. People and their stories are such an inspiration, isn’t it?

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  8. Oh, yeah. Money changes our lives in various ways, some of them good, others not so much. I’m not surprised Chekhov took this small, banal situation and turned it into a life-altering experience. That’s what he did in his stories.

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  9. Congratulations on the publication of “White.” I found it an evocative and discomfiting read. I get inspired to write by any number of things, including an off-hand remark, nature, family photographs, family stories, and what makes other people tick.

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  16. I don’t remember reading that Chekov story but I love the message. Building castles can be great but the discontent it can weave can be dangerous. I like my small and happy life and don’t need the big dreams 🙂

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