Evelyn Fender asked Rodney Jones:

Mr.Jones, I just discovered your book Evelyn Dear Fender and am very excited to begin reading it, not only because the title happens to be my name, it also sounds like a very interesting book. I can't wait to read it and your other books as well. My question is, what gives you the inspiration to write? I too am a writer but I often get writers block and I fear it's from lack of life experience. - Evelyn Fender

Rodney Jones Wow. This is strange, having a character from my book contact me… or two of them, conjoined, like twins. Strange, but also nice. I guess, in a universe as expansive as this, it was bound to happen.
So, Evelyn dear Fender…
I find inspiration in a lot of places, from a variety of sources: art, music, writing, movies, altruism. Inspiration (to me, anyway) is the feeling one gets when one recognizes (makes an emotional connection with) another’s exceptional achievement. A feeling like you’ve just been plugged into a stream of creative energy. It is an emotional response, not an intellectual, not necessarily about ideas.
Writer’s block? I'm not sure what that is. Are we talking about a lack of inspiration or a lack of ideas, or maybe both? Could it be fear? If so, then I believe inspiration might be the cure. But if it’s a lack of ideas, then work is the cure—pain-in-the-butt determination and focus. Do something to clear the mind. I take long walks in the country. And sometimes I have to force myself to write.
Write something!
That’s not it.
Write something else.
That’s not it.
Something else.
Oh, an idea is beginning to emerge.
This, I believe, is work, not inspiration. Inspiration is that energy that pushes work into the realm of art. For that, I might watch Valentina Lisitsa play Liszt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdH1h...

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