I'll be a bit more succint than Mademoiselle Seawright.

At least in my case, I find that for inspiration it's best to *live* - to walk
through
strange places and absorb the atmosphere, to observe people as they go about
their business (and make up stories on the fly about what they're doing!),
carry 
on genuine discussions on arguable points with friends and not-yet-friends...
Eat, drink, be merry, be sad - and think about it.

What of style? To a certain extent, you are what you read.  I devour books,
and after
each volume, my mental pattern is slightly different than it was before.  I
find style
to be the projection of that pattern onto the printed page, so it's no
surprise that mine,
at least, goes through changes as often as I go through textual fads.  I
believe 
conscious imitation, except in parody or as a monument, is usually the wrong
way to
go.  Listen to yourself - you'll probably find you're a lot more complicated
than you 
thought, with many voices arguing about points you thought were perfectly 
straightforward.  These voices are your characters, or the seeds of
characters.  
They'll tell you what to set down (and perhaps you'll disagree), and if you're
lucky, one 
of them will be friendly, overpowering, and fit like an old glove - he (or
she) will be your
narrator, your mind's avatar and the embodiment of your style.

I'm as clear as mud, I know, but it's none too early, I've 'The Little
Mermaid' to watch
and a brand-spanking-old Vonnegut to read.

Anyway. Hope that helped.

-Chris Willmore
Remember me?