Inspiration

[Vodstok]

I apologise if there is a thread on this already, but, what inspires you as a wirter? i will list some general categories of mine:

Music (mostly inspires mood and feeling)
Movies (often makes me imagine what could be accomplished if the movie's ideas had been handled by a GOOD writer )
Books
Video games ( i derive a LOT of inspiration from games)
Scientific papers

 

[Brian G Turner]

Music and film definitely.

Also - observation. Such as those times when you are relaxed enough that you just look at something enough to suddenly realise a whole flood of ideas relating to how that might add a new dimension to your writing.

Also, I love anecdotes. I don't get out much these days, but when I used to socialise a heck of a lot more, friends would often have great stories that were often worth using as inspiration. For example, how many of you have ever heard a good hitchhiking story from friends who hitch-hiked - or ever hitch-hiked yourself? Now change the details to fit into in a mediaeval/fantasy traveller setting - doesn't that add so much more to a scene?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Observation and anecdotes. I once wrote a chilling little story based entirely on an anecdote a friend told me one evening in a parking lot. Turns out he doesn't remember the incident so it's all mine now!

Just watching people, animals and things around me gives me stray ideas that often add up.

Reading about history, science and philosophy gives me many ideas, but usually in a very lateral way. I've never taken a direct 'what it' on any fact or idea, but the thoughts they set in motion often lead to unexpected places.

I never do get many ideas from music, books or movies - when it comes to other people's creations I am a pure consumer, although I have picked up stylistic notions from favourite writers like HP Lovecraft and William S Burroughs.

What really works is keeping my eye open, and adding every new bit of input that appeals to me to that strage old junkheap in my head, standing back and waiting for the contents to mutate.

It may always remain a hobby, this writing gig, but what I love is that it is a hobby that demands that I be a bit interested in everything. Always watching...

 

[Brian G Turner]

Ah, yes - research as well. History books have those great little real-life details you just can't imagien by yourself. And science writings can inspire you in a very speculative way for writing sci-fi.

 

[Esioul]

History and archaeology do a lot. And definitely anecdotes- I got a weird story about a bloke being eaten by his horses by mistake from a story someone told me... (in that story it was a hen that accidently got baled up in the hay). I also got a story from an article about how they used to use spiderweb for eyepiece graticules for microscopes-might have been Scientific American, I can't remember now. I mixed it in with the Arachne myth. I sometimes do get some ideas from observation, especially from my observations of how my friends behave. I think music is more useful to me once I have the initial idea.

 

[polymorphikos]

The radio news, mostly, and other books and films. I always felt dissatisfied that ideas were never explorered the way I'd have liked (what's the last really good sci-fi movie you saw? I bet it came out before 1988). The History Channel is a writer's best friend.

 

[Esioul]

Aarggh, I only have terrestrial. Don't taunt!