Let's get those creative juices flowing, what inspires your creativity? Is it a person, place, or something else?
For me, I am inspired by my dreams. What and where I want to be are a motivation and inspiration for me in everything I do or aspire to do. Of course, a beautiful day (such as the one we had this week on Wednesday with the 70 degree weather) was a nice change of pace and really made me not only feel good, but inspired my senses. Also, I love old and historic buildings and places. I like to think about all the history and stories they hold within them.
----------
~Shannon Chenoweth
Musings of a Writer
2,128 / 50,000
Okt 2, 2009 - 17 46
For some reason, whenever I try to translate my dreams into a viable story idea, there's always something missing... a certain je ne sais pas which serves to anchor the dream in reality despite it's surreal nature.
My inspiration usually comes from imagination, just conjuring up random scenes, characters, or even plot ideas. I usually just take a lot of ideas and start piecing them together however I feel best. For example, my current NaNo idea was just a mix of a lot of different elements, although I did know I wanted to do something with cyberpunk. The idea came to me before bed as most ideas seem to do. That's pretty much how I work. I think so much, I just seem to make things up and write them down and then mix and match.
13,292 / 50,000
Okt 13, 2009 - 10 02
I seem to get a lot of ideas when I'm stuck on I-4 in traffic! Seems silly but being in the car with no one talking to me and no computer in front of me somehow frees my mind to go off in tangents.
My weekend trips to nature trails are also inspirational. Any place that I can zone out and let my mind take me where it will is great for me.
Sabrina
0 / 50,000
Okt 14, 2009 - 12 40
What inspires me? Well, I don't know if I can put it into words. I would say life experiences. Also music, I find that when I listen to music my mind just wonders too another world where I'm not myself anymore, I feel the music within me and whatever the song is about I find myself tying a story to it. Too crazy, huh? Yep, I would also say my imagination. Sometimes ideas fly out of the blue in my head, but I never get a chance to put them down.
----------Marangely Negron
23,287 / 50,000
Okt 20, 2009 - 08 43
Haha! I used to get all sorts of story ideas on I-4! Something about the terrible monotony...
These days, if I get stuck I usually go jogging or biking with an MP3 player full of random songs. Exercise almost always pops out new ideas, probably due to a mixture of overheating in the afternoon humidity and lack of oxygen around thirty minutes out. Whatever the case, it works in most ways.
Warning: Anecdote
One time I was working on a short story about a city courier and went jogging because I couldn't figure out a motivation for a scene where he is blown out the side of a tall office building. I came up with the idea that he jumps out just in time to be picked up by a strange half cow, half dragon beast, lands in a strange western themed saddle, and then proceeds to shoot down some f-14s with a Winchester rifle while riding the flying cow as he dogfights through the city
Suffice to say that was a different story altogether (a short webcomic, actually), but fun nevertheless.
-----------Enc
Nano 08: Tales from Nodegan Harbor (Winner)
--A Victorian Colonization novel about a child governor.--
Nano 09: Travelers of The Road (TBA)
--A Walking-The-Earth short story collection--
31,014 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 13 57
Life experience is what inspires me. I also like the Middle Ages and stories of knights so that's what I'll be writing about. As for music I listen to this one song by some French guy (yeah great description, but I don't know the name or who wrote it) and it's really soothing. I can't concentrate with loud or fast paced music, better yet turn it all off and go outside and hear nature's music.
50,078 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 14 02
Most of the time I have no idea where my brain comes up with the things it does. Music can frequently spark ideas for me, as do names. I make up stories about names without meaning to, and I can't go far with my characters until I've found them the perfect name!
5,269 / 50,000
Okt 21, 2009 - 14 24
I work in retail in an outlet mall and get to meet people from all over the world. They probably think I ask too many questions, but I like to learn about people and other cultures because it inspires my writing. Music is also a big inspiration in my writing. I tend to listen to a lot of indie rock, and dance music. Music is words and it gets me thinking creatively. Traveling to new places always inspires me, and I find myself thinking of writing stories about the places I see. :)
----------vampire Kisses
40,136 / 50,000
Okt 28, 2009 - 22 00
Memories, and wondering how things could have been. From there, everything just sort of takes it own path, and I follow it to wherever it leads.
Ironically, after 30 or so rewrites, the memories and 'thinking of how things might have been' didn't even make it into the book.
Other inspiration: Looking at pics of castles and rolling hills. Also, pics of medieval towns are great for ideas.
----------