Thursday, July 09, 2009

Where do you get your ideas?

I guess this question is more for the writers than the readers.

How do you get your ideas for your stories? Are you inspired by something you've recently read or seen on TV? Does something happen in real life that triggers something in your brain? Does it come to you in your dreams?

Spill!

6 comments:

  1. It can be anything, anywhere. Sometimes a movie or book doesn't go where I want it to go, and I think "oh, but what if this happened or that, and then..." and there's an idea. Sometimes it's real life: I'll be somewhere, and think "what if someone right now showed up and said they were an alien/vampire/lost child, what would happen then?"

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  2. I don't know. Each story has been different. Usually, it starts with a character nudging me for some reason.

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  3. Boy, this is a hard question. My ideas come from all over. Snippets of overheard conversation, things I read or see on TV, song lyrics, mythology...so many different places!

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  4. Hmm... I would say it does depend on the character(s). Some of them whisper into my ear and say, "I have a story." Others show up with a complete backstory and say, "where do I go from here."

    Sometimes, I'll be listening to a song or looking at a picture and a story will just jump out from it.

    Most of the time, however, it's a sudden full-blown picture in my head. I see it like a movie or television show and then I have to figure out how to write it. (Which really should be easier than it is.)

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  5. Good question! Sometimes, ideas just hit me, like if I see something weird. Sometimes, I have to craft them--I like coming up with a theme and then figuring out what I can do to put fun twists on that theme (e.g., makeovers).

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  6. Everywhere. But I keep a plot book-- religiously-- so I don't loose them. That was a really good habit to develop.

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