The tortured artist. Am I right?
What I’ve learned is that, while pain does inspire some pretty honest writing, (completely therapeutic and necessary at times), so do other things, like that weird dude at work. The things you overhear while waiting in line, that oversharing cashier. Family you can’t escape during the holidays. Or that random guy who decided to chat you up in the parking lot about the world ending (true story). Characters and inspiration are everywhere.
It’s all perspective.
If you’re an observer like me, you’ll find that even in the midst of some rough shit in life, writing prompts and inspiration, (however short and strange), are out there. Whether it becomes your next novel or just a short little paragraph to get you through a rough patch of dealing with something like your coworkers who have no volume control AT ALL, that torture can have a pleasant outcome. No heart repair kit needed.

And yes, I will be sharing my own random stories soon.