5 sources of inspiration for a writer
The 21st century is the age of the web, where people write for their blogs, and social networks. Fortunately, books have not disappeared!
You need a flash of inspiration to create something truly worthwhile. Of course, inspiration alone won’t be enough to buy you a luxury car (although you can probably rent a Ferrari UAE price with the royalties). Writing technique is also paramount, as is successful book marketing. At the end of the day, successful authors see their writing as a business and constantly seek to improve their business.
Even so, creativity plays a large part in writing. So, where does it come from?
Study historical events
For many authors, myself included, a lot of inspiration comes from history. My entire Pearseus storyline closely follows the events of the Battle of Marathon between the Persians and Athens. While studying history the author will find characters, conflicts, and exposition. And it is not necessary to write historical novels. Still, compliance with authenticity requires a lot of work with archival documents.
The writer is free to depart from authentic stories concerning the author’s intention. You can take real events and move them to other scenery and eras.
Another option is to use the original location and time of the action, and characters, but change the course of history at your discretion. The third approach is to consider the events and actions of the heroes from the point of view of psychology, to focus on internal conflicts and people’s experiences.
Explore myths and legends
This is a storehouse of ready-made powerful plots and interesting characters. Most of them are still relevant and can cause a strong emotional response from the reader.
There are many examples where authors have successfully used legends to create impressive stories in the genre of fantasy and horror (yes, Dracula, I’m looking at you). It is just as easy to rework the myth into modern dramatic work.
Watch documentaries
Documentaries offer fresh material for the imagination while also helping to work out the details of the descriptions in the book. Curious viewers will also find a lot of topics for reflection. For example, how does a weapon/tech/world work? Why is it arranged this way? What if…?
The question “what if?” can supply the writer with plot ideas for an entire library. The main thing is to find an excuse to ask it more often. Documentary films often serve as a good and, at the same time, fascinating source of inspiration.
Read the diaries
Strictly speaking, the writer himself should keep a diary and sometimes reread old entries. Personally, I love my dream journal and am often inspired by my entries. Other people’s impressions and reasoning on paper can also come in handy.
Diaries reflect life anecdotes, small details, events, and momentary emotions. In case you are facing a creative crisis, they can also help in working out characters and descriptions of their experiences. Finally, diary entries can be useful for constructing believable detailed scenes.
Get acquainted with the works of futurologists
What will be the economy and society of the future? What wonders will technology teach us? When will machines become smarter than people and what will it lead to? How will the human body change with the help of technical means, and how many years will we live?
Based on the hypotheses of futurologists, it is possible to build a future world in which even ordinary events for the present can become extraordinary.
No less interesting is the picture of what is happening at the moment of the emergence and introduction of breakthrough technologies that can radically change a person, their life expectancy, and their abilities. How will governments and individual social groups react to such changes? How many books have not been written about this yet?
Look for ideas for your stories and novels. This list can be endless and individual. But it’s great if it turns out to be useful to you. For more ideas, check out this older post with creative ideas on how to overcome writer’s block!
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Thanks for this post, Nicholas. Some good ideas here. I’m currently working on a series of short stories inspired by fairy tales. I have 2 done, and a third on the way. The first is scheduled to go out on my blog (http://aspholessaria.wordpress.com) on the Tuesday before Christmas.
That’s awesome, please send me a reminder so I can help promote it 🙂
These are great ideas and Boo is cute too.
Thank you so much, Deanie! Sadly, Boo’s no longer with us – he got hit by a car a few months ago but I haven’t had the heart to remove him from my blog.
Oh, Nicholas. So sorry to hear about Boo. We had a cat that was killed by a car. She was a lovely creature. She went missing one day, and I found her at the side of the road. I know how much you will be missing your lovely companion.
Thank you so much, Vivienne! We lost 3 cats over the course of a year (old age, cancer, car) so it’s been a shock for sure. We’re now left with the dog, who seems to be enjoying the peace and quiet around here!