What was/is your inspiration?

[DAYDREAMER]

Inspiration is everywhere, and said everything is inspired by something else. So what inspired you to become a writer? Was it an event or series of events? Perhaps it was something you read or saw? A mix of both, or neither? Can you pinpoint the exact moment you wanted to become a writer, or did the idea evolve over time?

And what inspires you to write to this day? What are your current or past stories inspired by? Books, films, events in your life, or something else?

For me, I always liked the idea of writing. When I was 5-6 I would draw and write picture books, and my mom would always compliment them and say that I should be a writer. As a young child, I loved to daydream and play pretend. As a preteen I loved to make OCs, but those stories never evolved much. It wasn't until recently when I started writing Ophelia in Dreamland that I got back into it.

For Ophelia in Dreamland I was inspired by several things. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the character Ophelia from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the dreamcore aesthetic, and possibly more things that I cannot think of right now.

Another book that I am currently in character development of is Collection Day, which the environment is inspired by the one in ENA: Dream BBQ. My cast of characters, a total of 15, are inspired by numerous things that I will not be able to cover in this post (although if you wish to know more you can ask in the comments).

So what inspired you to be a writer, and what inspires you today?

 

[Pending]

My dreams. It feels sad, to get to know people and places only for them to return to the recesses of my mind. Emotions are another part of it, characters often pop out from whatever vibe I'm feeling or want to feel. Then it's ripped out and polished into its own character.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I started writing in grade school. My father's family contained a lot of storytellers and readers, so writing stories to entertain myself seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I still write mostly to entertain myself, but getting paid is nice, too.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I've always had a great love of words and written language. I've always been a voracious reader. I mentioned before somewhere on this board, my idea of heaven is a library with books and more books. I can definitely spend eternity very happily reading. I think combined with this is a real love of learning new things. There are so many interesting things to find out about!! Now, if you can take what you've learned and write a story about it, then what you've learned turns into expression, and that's another part of why I love to write. To express these thoughts that I have in a coherent, meaningful, logical, but touching, way. The most gratifying thing about writing a story is having someone say, "I really enjoyed reading that."

 

[Stuart Dren]

At its root? Merely enjoying stories written or otherwise, of any kind.

The rest is a mix of chronic daydreaming (for as long as I can remember) and severe vanity.

 

[JT Woody]

All of my works were once dreams.
Dreams inspired by things i read. For example, i was really big into the Maxiumum Ride series when i was in middle school. If you arent familiar with the series, its about 6 lab experiments who escape from the scientist and lab. The whole series is cat-and-mouse with the lab and the government who want them back, while they are trying to find where they belong (their real families who gave them up). I have an unfinished story idea from back then thtat was basically Maximum Ride but with aliens, with a little bit of Superman thrown in there (family finds a baby in the middle of a cornfield after a ship crashlands. The government is tracking the ship and the couple take the baby and go in to hiding. Years later, the kid is a teen and "different". Stuff happens, the government tracks him down, rounds him up and takes him to Area 51 where there are other aliens. They break out and go on the run)
I wrote down a good chunk of the story that i still have on a flashdrive from back then!

As i got older, my inspirations became more "vibes". My current book, the vibes i was going for was inspired by Sharon Shinns Samaria series. The way the books made me feel, the descriptive imagery, themes.

 

[Night Herald]

For me, the short answer would be a resounding everything. Lots of different stuff, anyways. Just life, taken as a whole.

Can you pinpoint the exact moment you wanted to become a writer, or did the idea evolve over time?

There was no sudden flip of a switch, in my case. I was pretty young when the process got started.

As a kid I would be constantly doodling during class (which got me into trouble more than once) or in my free time. I would draw all kinds of strange beings and places and make up stories about them. For many years that was my main creative outlet, and the plan was always to become a professional artist; but at a certain point my technical skills just couldn't keep up with my imagination, and I ended up feeling frustrated more often than not. By then I had already gotten a small taste for writing, thanks to pretty frequent short story assignments in school, and I was starting to discover a love of language. It wasn't long before I started experimenting with personal works of fiction, sometimes drawing ideas from the sort of things I'd been drawing.

So, one of my earliest inspirations was my own art, and I think my background in that helps me quite a lot with visualizing what goes on the page.

Other formative experiences include playing outdoors with my friends and enemies (I grew up rurally, and long enough ago that we had to make our own fun much of the time). In fact, my first attempt at a novel was directly based on a series of proto-LARPing adventures I had with some of the guys. It got scrapped, but some of those ancient ideas survived all the way to work I'm doing now, or plan to do in future.

I spent a lot of time in nature with my family, mountain hiking in every season. Got some valuable experiences there that I still draw from, such as getting lost in a blizzard at night and fearing you won't ever make it home. I got a lot of instructions about plant and animal life from my woodsman father, but sadly I didn't retain those very well. My mind was too full of dinosaurs and spaceships by then.

I was also a very indoorsy child, whenever I could get away with it. I had a deep hunger for stories of every kind. Books, comics, movies, televison, video games, and local tales passed down orally. From an early age I was nourished by a rich and diverse stew of ideas and impressions.

My dreams and daydreams are another huge deal. They can get pretty wild. Some form the basis for an entire story, while others just give me a scene or some kind of creative spark. I pull quite a lot of characters and character archetypes from there. Some of the more fascinating dreams I've had are literally unwriteaboutable, at least as far as my skill level is concerned. I've tried and failed often enough to know.

I have to credit Dungeons and Dragons as well. Been playing that for a good chunk of years now, albeit infrequently. I've used characters and scenarios from campaigns I've taken part in directly in my writing. Tailored to fit, of course. And only ever my own stuff, I didn't pinch anything from others at the table.

And what inspires you to write to this day? What are your current or past stories inspired by? Books, films, events in your life, or something else?

My current big projects are inspired by everything I mentioned above. More specifically, one is especially inspired by all the Norse mythology I read about as a child, and religion and fairy tales more generally; the other is partially based on my more recent interest in Hinduism and all kinds of spirituality. They're both pretty dreamlike and whimsical, and each echo my love of role playing games in slightly different ways. For these works I've taken much inspiration, such as writing style and humor, from books I love and find hilarious, for example the Discworld and Hitchhiker's Guide series.

Finally, the people I meet and talk to inspire me hugely; either directly, or in a way where they grant me some broader insight into life and the human condition. Conversing with other creative types is especially rewarding, and other writers doubly so.

 

[Homer Potvin]

I'd say I'm more compelled than inspired by anything. Does that count?

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I'd say I'm more compelled than inspired by anything. Does that count?

Why wouldn't it? It's a pretty common feeling among devotees of any pursuit.

That being said, I could use a bit of "compelled to write" today. Lots to do and no will to do any of it.

 

[Stuart Dren]

Other formative experiences include playing outdoors with my friends and enemies (I grew up rurally, and long enough ago that we had to make our own fun much of the time). In fact, my first attempt at a novel was directly based on a series of proto-LARPing adventures I had with some of the guys. It got scrapped, but some of those ancient ideas survived all the way to work I'm doing now, or plan to do in future.

Pretend play. Is that still a thing with kids these days? Or I guess DnD sort of fits the bill..

I remember being very bored as a child. The sibling nearest my age served as a imaginary scenario partner essentially. We just had sticks, a fort, and before that action figures or legos, but it could pass the time. Now that I think of it, there was lots of negotiating what happened next. Sometimes it caused disagreements.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

Pretend play. Is that still a thing with kids these days?

Sort of, I suppose. When I was a child I loved playing pretend. There was a rule that I could not use a mobile device until after dinner, so I had a lot of time to fill. Especially when I was home schooled from third grade to seventh grade. I used to play with dolls in cardboard boxes that I turned into houses. I would spend hours swinging on my swing set, daydreaming about my earliest OCs. I have younger sisters that pretend with toys sometimes, but I am sure they would much rather use devices.

 

[Brandon S. Pilcher]

I draw more frequently than I write, and oftentimes the pictures I draw inspire the story. What tends to happen is that I draw something I like (e.g. a character design or a scene), and then I experience this hyperfixation that makes me want to write a story behind the artwork (I'm autistic and I think I have a dash of ADHD as well, so I'm prone to hyperfixations like that).

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Pretend play was a source of my stories when I was a little kid.

In early grade school, the neighborhood kids got together to reenact movies we'd seen or books we'd read or the adventures of David Crockett, which every child knew like he lived down the street. It usually fell to me to do the directing after everyone chose a character. Since the group was usually small, most of us had multiple roles. Looking back, I think it's odd that no one ever fussed at me for changing scenarios or inventing new ones. Kids just wanted to have fun.

When I was a little older, I wrote down all the games I could think of on slips of paper, put them in a Mason jar, and had someone draw the game of the moment. Red Rover, Take a Giant Step, jacks, pick-up sticks, chess, and Lemonade (like charades) are ones I remember. South Texas summers were long and hot, and sometimes we just lolled around in the shade of a mesquite tree, pulling out slips of paper and talking about how it was too hot to do anything.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

What tends to happen is that I draw something I like (e.g. a character design or a scene), and then I experience this hyperfixation that makes me want to write a story behind the artwork.

I had something similar to that. I cannot draw very well, but I would draw inspiration from Picrew and BJD dolls, or just a trope that I liked and made characters to fulfill that trope. Based on a sole picture/thought of a character alone I would feel the urge to create a story.

When I allowed myself I would flesh out the character and side characters, I would lose interest in the actual story before I wrote it and repeated the cycle. I am trying to break this cycle, and I think I am doing well.