Where does your inspiration come from?

[serria]

I know this is a broad question, but what is your experience of deciding to write something? Whether it's just a little plot bunny that you spend an hour toying with using a Wordpad document, or a novel that you start charting. Do you think there's a pattern in what "inspires" you to write? Where does it tend to come from?

If I were to divide my inspiration sources, I'd say they went something like this. A tiny portion might come from real people. Something someone said, or the way someone I knew acted, or the way two people acted around each other might inspire a story in my head (though I wouldn't say any of my characters have ever been total replications of real people). A good chunk of inspiration comes from my own experiences, usually while I'm having them. I could be hang gliding or something nuts like that, and while I was doing it I'd start working a story in my head. A lot comes from my study of history (being as my genre of choice is fantasy/historical) - learning about some kind of ancient system of society, or even the little things, like how people cooked or what games they played, make me want to write something. Then, I have to admit, a lot of inspiration comes from existing media. I don't mean writing fanfiction or anything, but when I read, watch or play something with a lush fictional world, and I get plot ideas in my head that are never actually realized in the real story, I like to tinker with them until they become unique. That's especially easy with really open world video games, like Skyrim, where a lot of the game is just wandering around the detailed map.

How about you guys? I know a lot of people who are inspired by social issues, family or work experiences, their friends, and so on. What gives you that rush that makes you want to start something new?

Comments

[sarillia]

My ideas are mostly from other media. And a sense of exploration. I come at writing with this feeling of discovery. Even when I have things plotted out, there are things that surprise me when it comes time to actually write. So I take things that intrigue me from other pieces of media and I start asking questions that I feel like it would be fun to come up with some answers for. One of the stories I wrote started with me asking "is it possible for a society that practices human sacrifice to be sympathetic?" Another one started from me wanting to explore the idea of a Chosen One who ended up being rejected and how my character would react to that. Another time I was reading about psychopomps (guides to the underworld) and I asked myself what would happen if the one who was supposed to lead the soul to their final resting place decided they didn't like that person. My current project is looking at different attitudes toward killing and what makes one killing an evil murder and another one acceptable or even good.

I don't wait for ideas to come to me the way some people do. Sometimes they do find me on their own, but usually I'm actively trying to come up with ideas. I hoard ideas. I just like having them and looking at how many I have and enjoying dreaming about them.

Some people might think that I'm one of the people you mentioned who is inspired by social issues since I talk about representation a lot, but I don't often start out with those things in mind. I just start with different assumptions than the average person. In our society, the default person is a white straight man. My default main character is a queer woman who may be of any race. The plot doesn't come from that. That's just who she happens to be. I don't assume that there is a negligible percentage of disabled people and queer people and whatever other group isn't represented often. I look around me and see that these people exist so whenever a new character shows up in my planning, I go "okay, what if this person limps?" I don't assume that women will be subservient to men because there's a lower level of technology and it's therefore "realistic". There are lots of little assumptions that people make without even realizing that I try to acknowledge and exorcise.