I get inspiration from everything, but lately my classes have been knocking me over the head, idea wise. I’m taking one on the Prophets and Prophetic Literature in the Bible, and another on human nature.
I find that my writing and characters are taking on some more religious vibes because of the first course, and a wee bit philosophical because of the latter.
The themes that my religion class explore are really fascinating; the enduring ideas of righteousness and justice (plus fun little things like royal theology and, of course, prophetic poetry). Reading this different kind of literature is interesting: it provides a different way to look at things, and has some wonderful turns of phrase.

Human nature is casting a shadow on my work as well. I’ve learned about the philosophical bigwigs–Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Hobbes, Marx…and their ideas are creeping into my work and thought process. Its easier to create characters with different world views after learning about different philosophies. I may try creating characters that embody different philosophers’ ideas. But that may be a wee bit pretentious of me.