Inspiration

[Incinerawr]

Don't think a thread like this exists, but I got zero, count 'em, zero hours of sleep last night, so there's that. The point of this thread is to tell your inspirations that drive your writing--vague little things, like Lord of the Rings, superheroes, and of course Pokemon--and share them with your fellow authors and authors-to-be. Discuss them, and share your ideas with theirs, and they with yours. (Was that even a proper sentence?)

Specifically for someone like me, I've found it difficult to find inspiration. Writers find inspiration by looking outside, going places, playing games, watching movies, etc., but these last few months--strike that, for the last half a year things have been so hectic that I've had little to no time to even think. I won't make excuses, an author should always keep at it even if they're not feeling it, but it seems rather pointless if you're not having fun.

So that brings me to the main point: fun. In order to be inspired, you have to have fun with it, right? What things do you find fun that continue to fuel your creativity? One of the first things I read online is when starting a book or work of fiction, write down a list of all the things that you're, quote, "obsessed with" and "keep you up at night." I'll list a few of mine:

Superheroes
Supervillains
School life
Friends and bonds
Superpowers
Urban
Sci-fi
Missions
Anthros
Advanced technology
Mecha
Epic one-on-one fights
Secrets
Secret agents/police
Cities and city life
Anime
Modern pop culture
Slice-of-life

Feel free to comment on them or not, that's okay too and post your own!

 

[diamondpearl876]

Specifically for someone like me, I've found it difficult to find inspiration. Writers find inspiration by looking outside, going places, playing games, watching movies, etc., but these last few months--strike that, for the last half a year things have been so hectic that I've had little to no time to even think. I won't make excuses, an author should always keep at it even if they're not feeling it, but it seems rather pointless if you're not having fun.

I know what you mean. I used to wind down at night just lying in bed and envisioning scenes from my fics in my head, and I got a ton of ideas that way. I don't do that anymore, because inevitably, my mind wanders to other stressful things.

So that brings me to the main point: fun. In order to be inspired, you have to have fun with it, right? What things do you find fun that continue to fuel your creativity? One of the first things I read online is when starting a book or work of fiction, write down a list of all the things that you're, quote, "obsessed with" and "keep you up at night." I'll list a few of mine:

I love this idea.

A few of mine:

- Music. Some songs just send me into ultra feels mode where everything about the world is both the most beautiful and the saddest thing ever. I tend to shift my focus to my characters in these moods, since my fics are pretty emotional and character-driven. Makes me empathize with them and fall in love with them all over again, and of course, gives me the inspiration to keep on writing.

- Video games, specifically Dragon Age. Just starting to branch out to non-visual novel games, and while those are inspirational as well (namely Ace Attorney), I usually just want to write within the world already created because it's so immersive. Dragon Age is immersive, but there's also a ton left unexplored and so much lore surrounding everything that it's given me a lot of ideas for Pokémon fanfics.

- Psychology. A frequent theme in my writing for anyone who reads my stuff, though whether it's an actual theme with a character experiencing mental illness or explaining actual psychological theories in the Pokémon world, all of the dialogue and description and etc that I use is thought through from a psychological perspective.

 

[Iggy]

I can receive inspiration from any where, be it books, games, movies, my new keyboard (I'm in love), or just a spontaneous idea that pops up in my head and won't leave me alone until I've done something with (The concept for The White Dwarf being a good example). That brain of mine is rattling all the time, and whenever it starts roaming freely it mulls on my work-in-progress. Really, I hardly ever stop thinking about what I'm writing.

Reading books about writing also triggers my creative brain; I truly believe that Jeff Vandermeer's Wonderbook should be mandatory material for anyone taking writing half-serious. I own about 15 books about writing and that's one of the best when it comes to triggering your creative juices. Another good source I frequently consult are White Wolf's books Vampire The Masquerade. Most of these books detail how to organize and construct a story to tell during such a live action role play session, but all of that advice also applies to a novel. And something as dark as vampires never bores me.

Having fun is also a good tool to measure if you're doing well or not. If it starts to feel like a bore then something is amiss. If you're having a blast, then you're on the right track.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Hmm ... I think perhaps my penchant for slice of life anime has fed into writing The Long Walk. I suppose Terry Pratchett is a constant influence on my writing, which is a kind of inspiration. The casual silliness of Discworld sometimes leaks into what I write, and the very humanist approach the books have towards people.

Other than that, I suppose a lot of what I read for fun is inspiration as well. That means a lot of history, off the top of my head

 

[Drakon]

For me, inspiration can come from anything and anywhere.

I've gotten inspiration from items as diverse as scientific papers to Wikipedia articles. And of course, books are a good source as well.

 

[Incinerawr]

Ooh! So many posters! I thought this thread was gonna be a flop for sure. Very nice, everyone. Well played.

@diamondpearl876 I used to pretty much sit and listen to game OSTs all day and get inspired by either the melodies or the fanart Youtubers put up for the picture. For instance, I listened to the entire OST for Persona 3, and saw all these pictures of these teenage students living their normal lives, and other pictures depicting them with guns and strange weapons fighting supernatural beings.

Unfortunately, when I looked up the actual game on Wikipedia I was greatly disappointed, but I took the feels I had from my first impression and put it into my writing. I wish I could feel motivated again, but ever since my book crashed for the second time in three years, I got really discouraged. It doesn't help that this all happened when my grandpa passed away. I couldn't write for weeks, and sometimes when I try to write, I still freeze up...

Dragon Age sounds like a fantasy genre, so that sounds like it could help immensely with Pokemon. So it's the 'mystery' aspect you like of it?

@Iggy Then let me say this bluntly: I'm not having fun lately. I convinced myself to stop beating myself over every imperfection, but it's like I hit a brick wall. I'm gearing up to describe this big event, not really "big" but good enough, and I realized halfway through that I don't even like what I'm doing. o.o

Still brainstorming how to fix this without throwing my whole book out of whack. I really should pick up some books for food for thought, but everyone here has the flu.

@Beth Pavell 'Humanist' approach? You mean the feeling the reader is intended to feel when reading it? I'd love to hear more.

@Drakon Wiki = writer's best friend.

 

[diamondpearl876]

Unfortunately, when I looked up the actual game on Wikipedia I was greatly disappointed, but I took the feels I had from my first impression and put it into my writing. I wish I could feel motivated again, but ever since my book crashed for the second time in three years, I got really discouraged. It doesn't help that this all happened when my grandpa passed away. I couldn't write for weeks, and sometimes when I try to write, I still freeze up...

I'm sorry for your loss. Sounds cliche, I suppose, but the only way you won't improve is by not writing. Plans for writing change and surprise you all the time, but that can also be part of the magic in writing in that you never know what to expect. It doesn't mean you fail at all. ^^;

Dragon Age sounds like a fantasy genre, so that sounds like it could help immensely with Pokemon. So it's the 'mystery' aspect you like of it?

It is fantasy! And the mystery of lore told but not expanded on in the series does it for me, yep, haha. Or even some stuff that is expanded on is inspiring. The characterization in the series makes me jealous, and I think characterization is my biggest strength in writing. xD Anyway, the game has letters and transcripts of lore/history books scattered all throughout that you can "examine" and have added to the codex, where you can read things in depth. I'm not really a completionist in-game, but I admit I did read the whole codex online for ideas. : ' )

 

[Incinerawr]

I'm sorry for your loss. Sounds cliche, I suppose, but the only way you won't improve is by not writing. Plans for writing change and surprise you all the time, but that can also be part of the magic in writing in that you never know what to expect. It doesn't mean you fail at all. ^^;

Yeah, you're probably right. People say to hurry and finish the first draft even if you don't like it, because by that point you establish the plot and characters to yourself. It's up to you what to keep and what not.

Thanks for the encouragement, friend. Means a lot to me. ^^ I'll keep writing no matter what.

It is fantasy! And the mystery of lore told but not expanded on in the series does it for me, yep, haha. Or even some stuff that is expanded on is inspiring. The characterization in the series makes me jealous, and I think characterization is my biggest strength in writing. xD Anyway, the game has letters and transcripts of lore/history books scattered all throughout that you can "examine" and have added to the codex, where you can read things in depth. I'm not really a completionist in-game, but I admit I did read the whole codex online for ideas. : ' )

Huh, that vaguely reminds me of the encyclopedia in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. There's all words across the world referencing locations, people, items and myths. That's really cool, what platform is the game on?

 

[UselessBytes]

I’m not much for the whole “inspiration” thing, myself. I just usually write what pops into my head with little care for what gets it there in the first place. There’s an exception to every rule though, as there was an old (and very very unfortunately dead) fic about Karel from Fire Emblem and his life leading up to the events of the game that made me want to write something similar. I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but maybe I will someday.

 

[Drakon]

Wiki = writer's best friend.

Definitely. It's absolutely amazing for research...even on the most obscure topics possible.

 

[canisaries]

Inspiration has a lot of sources for me. Shows, movies (the few I watch), reading and reviewing others' stories, art, music, nature, dreams, feedback (the last scene of Agápe was added very late, after a comment inspired me), my own emotions.

There are a few things that get me in an especially artsy mode:
- Dark, creepy and/or aggressive music. Lately I've had a lot of fun with Lordi. Of course there's lots of other types of music that inspire me, but those tend to be too case-by-case to really describe with any umbrella term.
- Monsters! Monsters are cool. I love drawing them, looking at art of them, thinking about all the different kinds because I'm a massive furry. It's a big reason I like Pokémon.
- Gore. Anyone who read Hunter, Haunted can tell. I just love blood and guts and violence. (Fictional. Put down the phone.)
- Anatomy. The way humans and animals are built is really interesting and there's something extremely elegant about how everything's connected in such a functional way.

Feel like I'm forgetting something, but can't think of anything right now. Oh well.

 

[lucarioknight56]

Usually I end up thinking of a cool new scene when I'm reading a book, watching a movie...really, anything where I'm supposed to be imagining something else. I try to listen to music to keep myself in a writing mood, and to help ingrain in my mind certain scenes to come.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

My SO was recently struggling to come up with a story idea to write for Camp Nanowrimo this month. To help, I wrote a list of every piece of media she enjoys, and picked out the common themes. Nature, finding one's better self or one's place to be in life, marginalised identities, anti-war & anti-authoritarianism, future technology, non-human characters, different possible futures for yourself, secret spaces, horror, witchcraft, dragons. That helped her realise what she wanted to write.

Perhaps I should do the same for myself!

Cats, Mars, metanarrative, artificial intelligence, alternate history, timeloops, personhood, the fluidity of identity, correcting injustice, alien life, giant underground bases belonging to secretive organisations, genetic engineering and cybernetics, transhumanism, nihilism, climate change, not to mention half the stuff from the list I made for my SO.

Seems obvious why I'm writing the stories I'm writing, when I lay it out like that!

 

[LightningTopaz]

I am a sucker for:

--vast worlds filled with secrets and lore
--magic/superpowers
--an epic quest
--music
--mythology and folklore
--performances
--close familial relationships and close friendships
--cool creatures

and more

 

[Drakon]

Because I write a lot of war stories, another great source of inspiration is the music of Sabaton.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Sabaton is great! And in fact, music in general can be a wonderful inspiration. Music is powerful stuff!

 

[Ambyssin]

So that brings me to the main point: fun. In order to be inspired, you have to have fun with it, right? What things do you find fun that continue to fuel your creativity?

I guess I'm a bit late to this rodeo, so to speak. Like a few others mentioned, I do think music (especially game soundtracks) help to get my creative juices flowing. I definitely have a headcanon soundtrack for the stuff I write. Currently it's a lot of Kirby and Metroid music, with some Pokémon tunes, Horizon: Zero Dawn tracks, and a couple of Final Fantasy tunes thrown in for good measure.

Likewise, I'm definitely influenced by the (rather cartoony) games that I play in my free time. There's plenty of snappy dialogue and fun, character-driven interactions that I aim to try and emulate. Whether I'm successful or not is another story entirely, aha ha ha. ^^;

 

[Incinerawr]

I guess I'm a bit late to this rodeo, so to speak. Like a few others mentioned, I do think music (especially game soundtracks) help to get my creative juices flowing. I definitely have a headcanon soundtrack for the stuff I write. Currently it's a lot of Kirby and Metroid music, with some Pokémon tunes, Horizon: Zero Dawn tracks, and a couple of Final Fantasy tunes thrown in for good measure.

Likewise, I'm definitely influenced by the (rather cartoony) games that I play in my free time. There's plenty of snappy dialogue and fun, character-driven interactions that I aim to try and emulate. Whether I'm successful or not is another story entirely, aha ha ha. ^^;

Let me put it this way: if I'm not listening to music, I can't write. I can hear every noise in the house otherwise, every conversation being held, so that's a big motivator. The music I write to isn't always fitting, but I do my best to pull in as many game OSTs as I can reach and do what I can with them. I've been writing a total of six pages these last few days, so that works!

What games do you play that classify as cartoony? :3

 

[Ambyssin]

@Incinerawr I actually said it in the interview that went up this month, but the Mario RPGs, Mystery Dungeon games, Kirby series, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper all come to mind. Also Ace Attorney for more character-driven quirks. ^^

 

[Incinerawr]

@Incinerawr I actually said it in the interview that went up this month, but the Mario RPGs, Mystery Dungeon games, Kirby series, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper all come to mind. Also Ace Attorney for more character-driven quirks. ^^

Ace Attorney does indeed have a colorful cast--sometimes unwantedly so, but most of their characters are really well-designed, especially in the case of AA:AJ.

Used to love the Mario RPGs up until Dream Team. Sure, giant Luigi was epic, but the plot took itself way too seriously, and those graphics my gawd... I had a migrane for weeks!

Never played Kirby really besides 64. I love Mystery Dungeon, especially Time/Darkness/Sky. Tried Sly Cooper once, but they made me experience the amazing sensation of outdatedness + corniness (both not real words) with their desire to say "freaking" all the time and referencing euphemistic expressions like having a "pair" of "fuzzy little dice."