| Sumario: | Writers often can't explain where their ideas come from and, when asked, they reply with nebulous answers suggesting they 'seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky' (King 2020). For many writers, the intangible nature of inspiration is the result of serendipity. Serendipity is recognised as a valid and established research process and method across a multitude of disciplines including science, business management, information technology, the natural and social sciences, and design. However, there is little documented evidence of the use of serendipity as research for creative writing, or how serendipity as a practice-led research (PLR) method can be harnessed to progress fiction narratives. The authors examine existing research models that explain the process of serendipity, and propose strategies to demonstrate how creative writers can foster and harness serendipity as a PLR method to enhance their writing. Reflections of these strategies in practice provide working examples of serendipity as a viable creative writing research method.
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