You Live in an Interesting Place!

Yes, kids, you do live in an interesting town, city or village. You just might not know it yet. Or maybe you come from an interesting country, with lots of history, but you don't live there anymore. Maybe your family members know a tale or two. Ask them. Listen closely. Take notes.
I only learned recently that some of the places I used to vacation as a child, have fascinating histories, with deep, dark secrets, going back hundreds of years. After researching them on the net, and asking people in the know to tell me more, I began writing a fictional story based on those fascinating anecdotes, legends and bits of history. I also went through my collection of childhood vacation photos to jog my memory. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll soon be able to revisit and explore these old vacation haunts. Next time I'll pay more attention. You'd be surprised at just how much inspiration you can get from simply being in a place - and paying attention.
Are you writing a scene that takes place in a park? You could invent your own park (great idea) or you could look as some photos of parks, gardens or playgrounds. Better still, take your notebook into a park, sit on a bench, walk around, swing on the swings.
What does the air smell like? How does the bench feel against your legs? How does the air feel on your face when you swing high? What colours are the flowers? Is someone walking a dog? Does the dog remind you of a dishcloth on legs? Or is it a greyhound, reminding you of a skinny fashion model?
Now, go home, look at what you've scribbled in your notebook, and decide which ideas you want to discard and which you want to use. And remember, you can still invent your own park, but just add bits and pieces from your experiences of the park you know. You can make your park a lot bigger, or much smaller. Don't forget, in fiction almost anything is possible. ('What if?)
Your park might even be on another, as yet unknown, planet. In that case, I guess everything is possible.