the well written - frances hodgson burnett

One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with the millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in someone's eyes.

- Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

By Aly Chalk

illustration - ester garcia cortes

I love these.  A really unique aesthetic to inspire some really unique stories...

on writing - john steinbeck

No story has power, nor will it last, unless we feel in ourselves that it is true and true of us.

- John Steinbeck, East of Eden

By Francesco Chiacchio

illustration - johanna velasco

Johanna's child brat princes, indifferent princesses, and crowned fairies searching through dark fog.

the well written - bram stoker

Never did tombs look so ghastly white. Never did cypress, or yew, or juniper so seem the embodiment of funeral gloom. Never did tree or grass wave or rustle so ominously. Never did bough creak so mysteriously, and never did the far-away howling of dogs send such a woeful presage through the night.

- Bram Stoker, Dracula

photo stories - two from flickr

Photography on Flickr can inspire stories too.

Here are just two photos to start the brainstorming:
A man with a strange connection to a white tiger.
A frog prince-esque story with a broken statue instead of a frog. 

By April O'Neil

By Lukasz Wierzbowski

the well written - paulo coelho

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.

- Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

By Liebe Frieden.