On Inspiration

When I have the writer's block, or otherwise am tapped out, I ask somebody to inspire me. It's awesome because it consistently works. But the question is: how does it work?

The danger in soliciting ideas that they aren't yours. Now, granted, nothing is truly original, since we are raised by our culture, but we have a good understanding about ideas being internal or external in origin. So, when somebody gives me an idea to work with I desperately do not want to steal their ideas.

With me, I'm seeking a catalyst. I don't want somebody to give me a story to write. I want them to give me a concept to think about. It sparks my own mind to come up with the concrete details.

That is what inspiration is to me. It's an outside presence that triggers your mind to create. It is not external ideas that you simply take and call your own. And let this determine how you ask others to inspire you.