I've discovered something else that inspires me- reading threads on here. I responded to one earlier and I came back and read all the way through and realized I wanted to write this one novel I'd been thinking about earlier. I'm slightly amused to know my inspiration was found by sifting through a thread in the forums. ~Lynn
I find when im doing my paperound, I talk to myself (yes first sign of madness) but in my head, and I play out my character, thinking of good lines and as soon as I'm home i write them all down and then just carry on writing, using my ideas where appropriate. So long walks and playing out your book always works for me.
Hi folks. Inspiration - I get it all over the place. It can be something as simple as an image that pops up on a webpage that fits the look of a character I'm coming to grips with, or the two old women in front of me in the queue at the supermarket, or something I see when I'm out with the dog. I've got this constant bubbling stew of concepts, hooks, ideas and images boiling somewhere in my head, and sometimes the right thing floats to the top at the right time, and thats when you can come up with something magical. Inevitably though, it'll happen when you're most prone to forget it, so that's why I have a tiny notebook that lives in my back pocket and goes everywhere with me. I read it when I get into bed at night, and I find frequently that two or three items will blend into something decent, and before you know it, you've created something that works and excites you as a writer. In saying that, I once wrote a story about the birth of a pot of soup, so I don't know how much of my judgement you can trust! JJ
Where do you usually draw your inspiration from? I was out in the yard the other day just puttering around as usual. I stepped back from weeding my garden and noticed how beautiful the apple blossoms were this time of year..and it kind of hit me that i should add something to that effect into the story i am currently working on (not so much the apple blossom, but what it represents)..anyway, that lead me to thinking if anyone else ever has those weird "ah hah" moments where they pull inspiration out of thin air, and if not, where 'do' you get your inspiration from?
Well for me, I get inspiration from everything around me. But mostly a lot of my ideas come from my dreams. Ever since i was a little kid, im 25 now, I have always had these wild dreams and vivid exploits while I slept. Now I take them and use it in my writing. My dreams for me are like my connection to my creativity. Now I sleep with a notebook beside my bed, because its easier to recall and write my dreams when I first wake up from them. What ends up happening is, that I end up with a ton of really great concepts, ideas, and outlines for what could be great stories. From there I just let my pen flow.
Dreams, fantasies, movies, other people, things that I've experienced, random little things I see or hear.. I could go on and on. Basically, everything!
I think of "inspiration," per se, as a "wonder"ful thing, which keeps me "alive." That, I draw from almost everything I see and experience--especially good company, a great book, a piece of music, an elegant dance performance, a work of art, a gesture of kindness--that kind of thing. But none of that makes me want to go write, unless it's to write a letter or maybe (but this is a stretch) a nonfiction piece or an essay, both of which are an effort to communicate something to someone else. One example of that was 9/11 when I wrote virtually all day (in New York), even ignoring my houseguest who happened to be staying with me that day. It was as if it was the only thing I was capable of doing somehow, as if it somehow grounded me and reassured me in some nameless fashion. I can't explain it exactly. Maybe I was hoping (and failing) to find some great fictional truth that would explain the "awe-ful" reality of what I had witnessed. My inspiration for writing poetry and fiction comes from hardships or struggles that drive me into myself where the words themselves inspire creativity. Even so, I don't think I write "dark" fiction or poetry, which sometimes surprises me. The words themselves kind of speak to me as I move them around and reshape them and so forth. It feels more like a partnership, in which they and I work together to search of some truth a particular fiction or poetic metaphor or image reveals or to find some meaning or aha experience I couldn't possibly find without growing some new lifeform right out of the words. Maybe that's where my imagination lies. I've never had the experience of being inspired to write a fictional story by something I saw or that happened to me, though I've certainly used details of personal experience inside a short story to help fill out a character or setting. I have written human interest articles from personal experiences I've had, though they were "inspired" (if at all) by the prospect of publishing something. But that's not so (for me) with fiction writing or poetry. The inspiration (for me) arises directly out of the medium itself and the process of partnering up with language. PS: Sorry for the length of this post, but I appreciate the opportunity to think about your question.
Reading and things around me. I got an idea for a short story while driving and seeing a horse trailer lol. Sometimes it just happens.
I've always had a very active imagination. I was the little girl not just having tea with her stuffed animals, but a banquet with about 75 imaginary guests. I could act out imaginary scenes with characters from TV, Movies, or Books, as if I were in the scene with them. Granted, I looked completely looney-tunes doing this, like an actor performing a monalog, but I hardly ever got caught doing this as a kid. Otherwise my parents might have had me committed! With my active imagination, I tend to pull inspiration from everything I observe. I can see a person at the supermarket and think how they look, how they move, and the items in their carriage make them an interesting character. I can be watching a few movies and think "What if I combined these ideas, changed some stuff around, and voila I would have something totally different, new and interesting." I can read a book and enjoy the writer's style of writing, and it can inspire me to sit down and write something...anything. I think inspiration tends to hit when we least expect it, because those are the times we are truly open to it. When our mind is clear of stress, of thoughts, or worries that's when we can tap into our subconscious imagination and let loose our captive, innate creative ability.
All manner of things can set me off. Driving by an old graveyard, a random comment by a stranger on a bus, the strange juxtaposition of businesses on a sign in New Mexico (J&R's RV Parking and Handmade Burritos -- I had to pull over and take a picture and jot down a few notes on where that could go), the jaded eyes of a prostitute on a street corner, anything can send me off into fictionland, where I can make everything come out the way it should.
Well, I don't draw my own inspiration so much as it smacks me in the face with an idea in a "HERE I AM WRITE ME FOOLISH MORTAL!" sort of way. But it usually happens anywhere and everywhere, most noticeably from nature and from art.
EVERYWHERE And Im happy for it. You have to keep a keen eye and open ear, its always there, just pay attention. (especially listen and watch other people, they are characters, and without characters there are no stories---at least none that a publisher wants to read, they want characters) Depending on the genre it helps to stay informed and keep up with the state of the art. (I write alot of SF, so if I read an article in a science magazine about some new discovery it can inspire a new SF yarn) Be careful though, do your research, sometimes you may get cool ideas that are original to you but have been done already by other authors to death Basically, I like to go someplace other than where im at, like a park, just to get away. Seeing anything new or different can inspire, and eveything where youre at may seem familiar and dull to you.
I am inspired by Gaelic oral stories. What I am writing includes a lot of them, and is essentially a combination of the plots of each of them to make a quasi-historical account of something that could quite easily have actually happened. That and modern politics, references to which are always just below the surface...
For me, it can come from anywhere. Could be a media article, nature, something I see, certain ideas or things, urban legends... anything that sets off a lightbulb above my head, *ping!*
for me, i get my insperation from life and my dreams. if something intreasting happens at school, i will write about it. if i see a beautiful scene (horizon/sunset/sea scape) i write a paragraph or two about it, maby draw a picture and hopefully use it in one of my pieces of writing.
movies, books, and video games, or to sum it up in one pretty package, other stories. I don't steal their ideas or anything, but if the story is good enough to move me emotionally, it really puts the rush back into me to do some writing. a great example would be any movies by Hayao Miyazaki. When i first saw Spirited Away, i think i wrote 2.5k words that night, and even more over the next few days.
Hmm, to name a few sources of inspiration Nature Music (latest being the queen of the night aria) My horses (they're friesian, so go figure ) My degree course (I study ancient history and archaeology) Dreams Music again Nature (my country of origin, norway is truly beautiful) other people Movies/books/tv shows that I love. Oh, and I know this probably sounds really morbid. But if I have a character who goes through something difficult, I tend to visit boards for people who have lost a significant someone. It makes me cry most of the time but it inspires me to write a more believable emotional moment, seeing as I'm fortunate enough to have most of the people I care about intact. I haven't been through anything too dramatic or sad (yet :S)
Mine comes from reading the occult, history and meta physics. I have always had a fantastical view on life, always believing that there was 'something more' something bigger at play. I see the magick in everything and because of that everyone things im completely bonkers but different strokes for different folks....
Where do your ideas come from? It's the question writers get far too often, considering they don't know either. So, what's the best response you can think of to this question? Points are given based on seconds spent giggling
When people ask me that question, I usually tell them that I sacrifice a turnip and the Geico Gecko whispers it in my ear. I've also been known to say Ikea.
Music gives me some of my best ideas. I hunt out songs that have the "feel" of the story I'm wanting to tell and the power of the music (not usually so much the lyrics) give me endless ideas. Then I assemble all the songs in sequential order and it's like seeing my novel play out in my head...of course I have to eventually toss the iPod in a drawer and do actual writing.
Because I'm trying to write a fantasy novel with a bunch of unique and interesting races and creatures, I often turn to nature first. My second choice seems to be song lyrics since the vague nature can conjure up some very unique imagery and ideas that don't necessarily resemble the source itself. After that I turn to whatever else is available. Other peoples' works included if it means having a base for a new idea.
