How would you go about finding inspiration to write?

Soul_Immortal · 05-09-2004, 03:12 PM

Where does your inspiration come from when you want to write a poem, short, lyrics, etc.,...?

Usually I start watching movies like "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
or "First Knight". Something about medieval culture always gets my mind going. And if that won't work? I read from authors like Alex Severin, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton......

And if THAT won't work, I go for a walk. I drink my coffee and let my imagination work, starting from the highest point of blasphemical gore down to the color of the sunset. Candlelight helps my writer's block too.....

~*Soul*~

P.S.: This was just an on-the-whim topic,.....guess you could say its time to write.a a

comatoast · 05-09-2004, 04:21 PM

hmmmm. That's a good question. I have never thought about where my inspiration originates. I would have to say that most of it comes from experiences in my life. A lot of the characters reflect people I've known and the same with the places.
As far as the "spark" and catalyst that makes me jump and say:"OH! I'm going to write!" it could be anything. I just wrote a story after I say a flourescent light flickering in a hallway. I've done that my entire life. One little thing(a tattoo, or a drum beat, or the curve of a hip) and I have a story.

anyway, my two cents

Morpheus_Noctifer · 05-09-2004, 05:02 PM

It's usually something I've read that gives the creative spark to write. Some fact or event that just triggers a series of ideas in my mind. But a trigger can come from anywhere: books, music, absinthe, a guy walking through Wal-mart with a book on finding inner peace and a shotgun in his basket, something on the Hitler...I mean History Channel, or a coversation with friends. Finding the spark isn't really something I think of as systematic; it's just about being open when the spirit moves.

Soul_Immortal · 05-10-2004, 03:22 AM

The curve of a hip?Do tell.

~*Soul*~

comatoast · 05-10-2004, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soul_Immortal

The curve of a hip?Do tell.

~*Soul*~

Yes,dear, the curve of a hip. The curve of a hip, the nape of the neck, the spot where the back and the buttocks meet, the soft moaning during kisses, the moisture on a set of lips after a kiss, the glow from candlight on a woman's body after love making. All of these have been inspirations for poems and stories. I may share but I am a little protective of them. My fiction and horror I don't mind but me heart and my desires are another story(no pun).

Here is an example to give you an idea of how my mind works in regards to writing. I was soaking in a nice ,hot bath last night and a piece of art that I'd seen about a year ago came to mind(desolation was the name). I was also thinking about a friend and the troubles she was going through.

Well, before I could get out of the bath, the poem was coming to life. I jotted it down and worked on it until I was as happy as I could be( I've never liked my work).

anyway..I ramble..

peace be with you

Loy · 05-10-2004, 01:18 PM

I do most of my writing in bars. Not those fancy Martini bars, but loud, smokey dives where knife-fights could break out at any given moment. Now, this isn't an approach I suggest for everybody, but it works for me.

As far as inspiration, if I don't write and mythologise these stories I have within me, then I'll die. That's really the only way I can describe it.

Soul_Immortal · 05-10-2004, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comatoast

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soul_Immortal

The curve of a hip?Do tell.

~*Soul*~

Yes,dear, the curve of a hip. The curve of a hip, the nape of the neck, the spot where the back and the buttocks meet, the soft moaning during kisses, the moisture on a set of lips after a kiss, the glow from candlight on a woman's body after love making. All of these have been inspirations for poems and stories. I may share but I am a little protective of them. My fiction and horror I don't mind but me heart and my desires are another story(no pun).

Here is an example to give you an idea of how my mind works in regards to writing. I was soaking in a nice ,hot bath last night and a piece of art that I'd seen about a year ago came to mind(desolation was the name). I was also thinking about a friend and the troubles she was going through.

Well, before I could get out of the bath, the poem was coming to life. I jotted it down and worked on it until I was as happy as I could be( I've never liked my work).

anyway..I ramble..

peace be with you

Comatoast, ramble on in the ways that made me turn 3 shades of pink and red. Hehe. Hot baths work really well.

:lol:

~*Soul*~

Soul_Immortal · 05-10-2004, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loy

I do most of my writing in bars. Not those fancy Martini bars, but loud, smokey dives where knife-fights could break out at any given moment. Now, this isn't an approach I suggest for everybody, but it works for me.

As far as inspiration, if I don't write and mythologise these stories I have within me, then I'll die. That's really the only way I can describe it.

Loy,

Dear I really hope you do not get stabbed as you are writing the word "if" in any of your writings. I think the beauty of finding the right angle dies within us all (those who write or do some form of......something) once we utter "I give up" or "This really sucks". Good ones from all of you, really.

~*Soul*~

ghostposts · 05-10-2004, 03:02 PM

I ask myself questions, like

What if someone summoned a God and they showed up Really Pissed at having been called?

or

If the necronomicon was stuck in a warehouse, how would it get out?

the latest question is this

If dragons had a creed, how would it be worded?

makes for some interesting thoughts

Moon_Creature · 05-10-2004, 04:22 PM

Usually I don't find the inspiration to write, it finds me.

Maimy · 05-11-2004, 08:41 AM

T, I can't even *tell* all THOSE stories ...

Gypsy2222 · 05-11-2004, 08:45 AM

I go with Moon_Creature on this one... Most of my writings are a reflection of something that found me (i.e. war, a desert rose, often a woman...). I just try to capture some small detail of life as it moves around me through words... A petal in the dust can move a societies heart and to partially quote Comatoast, "The curve of a hip" can set a nation on fire... Though alot of my stuff is for only friends or lovers... Hence most of it will never make it out of my endless stream of notebooks... lol...

Always,
~The Gypsy~

kog3100 · 05-11-2004, 09:04 AM

Believe me, Maimy has the talent to tell... just not the venue. Heh.

Maimy · 05-11-2004, 10:44 AM

Shh, kog3100. If you tell on me for cheating at another board, Wolfie'll kick my bootay!

kog3100 · 05-11-2004, 01:36 PM

:shock:

Oh, you said 'kick' your bootay. Read that first letter wrong.

:lol:

Soul_Immortal · 05-11-2004, 05:37 PM

Gypsy: Set a nation on fire? Ooh.....

Maimy: Whats this? Talent?!

Yay!

Ok, so what happens after inspiration?

I try to write it, but often get caught in my own words.

Maybe I suck as a writer, I don't care. I love what I do....

~*Soul*~

Panther · 05-11-2004, 06:13 PM

I listen to music. Semisonic's 'Feeling Strangely Fine' usually does it for me. Hanging out with my boyfriend usually helps as well.

What you trying to write?

akhira · 05-11-2004, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TStone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soul_Immortal

Ok, so what happens after inspiration?

I try to write it, but often get caught in my own words.

Maybe I suck as a writer, I don't care. I love what I do....

~*Soul*~

You know, that's a goddamn hard question to answer. The fact that you have the balls to ask it shows you have promise. It's hard for us as a people to see our own flaws, and here you are showing your's to all of us.

Good for you.

Keep tapping away, keep asking the hard questions, you're going the right way.

hmm looks like someone already answered my question before I asked it.
Here's another one.

I am in a crowded bus when suddenly inspiration hits. But by the time I get home and anywhere near a pencil and paper the idea is gone. What should I do? :shock:

lip a notepad on my waist all the time.

deadlove75 · 05-12-2004, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostposts

If the necronomicon was stuck in a warehouse, how would it get out?

the latest question is this

If dragons had a creed, how would it be worded?

The answer to both is: Very Carefully.

Blessed Be,

Jason Hodges

psyche · 05-12-2004, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loy

I do most of my writing in bars. Not those fancy Martini bars, but loud, smokey dives where knife-fights could break out at any given moment. Now, this isn't an approach I suggest for everybody, but it works for me.

Ha!

*ow...bleedy*

Yeh...I'd be the monkey...

This being a thread I've slept on, I'll say that often I'm too busy living life to write to anyone or about anything and nothing. Though this much remains true. I rarely have opportunity to write anything down in the moment. It's a practice in memory, of remembering the things that matter when those shivers go up and the spine and the little hairs stands up. When that *oh* of the lightbulb clicking on illuminates everything in conscioussights, as if everything up until that very moment was darkness.

*a flashbulb blinds and captures a moment*

Every little things
emotional stirrings.

It's the little things.
The uncanned coincidinces.
That make life worth living.
And something to write about.
That remains when we are no longer.

And if all else fails, carry magicmarker and write all over yourself!

akhira · 05-12-2004, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psyche

And if all else fails, carry magicmarker and write all over yourself!

I'll keep that in mind :lol:

Maimy · 05-12-2004, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soul_Immortal

Maimy: Whats this? Talent?! :D Yay!

Nah, not I. Just because I can make ComaPriest cry without meaning to. Just because my smut has gotten people laid for seven years now. Just because I can go back to the first rickety pieces of a novel I wrote ten years ago, and think "yeah, that doesn't SUCK" ... I don't think I am talented.

Because (and this is an answer to that 'what happens after inspiration?' question), I am one of those schmoes who thinks I'm but a conduit.

I don't think, per se, that some greater voice speaks through me. But I do think that my facility with words is merely a tool used by the story itself. I don't feel in control, more just an active participant in something.

When I am writing, I don't generally know what will happen next. One word after the other tends to be so spontaneous as to be nearly surprising. I can't wait to find out what is coming, usually - my writing is merely another form of reading.

In the stage after that, editing, the trick is to correct flow and consistency. But, for the most part, the verbs are all there, the rhythm is complete - now all we have to do is get them all in the right place ...

Gypsy2222 · 05-12-2004, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soul_Immortal

Gypsy: Set a nation on fire? Ooh.....

Maimy: Whats this? Talent?!

Yay!

Ok, so what happens after inspiration?

I try to write it, but often get caught in my own words.

Maybe I suck as a writer, I don't care. I love what I do....

~*Soul*~

I believe Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships... lol...

As for the actual nitty gritty writing bit... I partially memorized a thesaurus, though I am pretty sure this is not for everyone... Something that also helps me... I find that rhythm in words can be almost as important as content... so when I write I try to find the rhytm of the words and complete the song in my heart... if that makes any sense... to go further into it, one might say that every experience, every object, every feeling is a symphony unto itself... all I try to do is follow the tune of one simple flute or violin within the music... I try to capture one small detail of reality and bend my entire bieng into it's aspect shape and form... To do this I often go over my works several times just to see if I can follow the rhythm and if I find it pleasing in my soul... hence the thesaurus... to find the rhythm in the heartbeat of the music of life.....

Always,
~The Gypsy~

WolfMoon · 05-12-2004, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maimy

Shh, kog3100. If you tell on me for cheating at another board, Wolfie'll kick my bootay!

You cheat!!I thought I was special!I thought I was the only one but I find out I'm merely being used for my mind with no intention but to leave me for someone more interesting.......*sniff*

I see my heavenly body means nothing to you anymore.And my heaving bosom must be bare without your caress.I thought we had something.....That's alright,I'm taking the kids.

:roll:

:lol:

Maimy · 05-12-2004, 11:56 AM

... But ... But ... Mael's the BabyDaddy! You can't take the kids!

Heh.

Gypsy, I have the rhythm thing too. I will change an entire paragraph and jettison perfectly great words in order to make something tick correctly. With me, there's no music in it, but staccato and flow are very important. I do the same with ANY words - emails, posts, whatever. Shape and syncopation rule everything I type.

It's Wolfie's breasts pretty much ruling everything I'm *thinking*, though ...