Where do your ideas come from?
| Gosh, if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked this, I'd have enough to pay this month's Cable TV. The worst part is that no matter how many times they ask me this question I can't think of an answer. Sure I'm constantly loaded (or plagued) with story lines. Last night while I was trying to come up with something for Sasha White's workshop, I came up with another idea about this dragon man and this witch woman, which I quickly wrote down before I forgot. Some say they dream their stories. Wow! How lucky they are! I can't remember my dreams, and when I do, as soon as I open my eyes I forget them. I tried the dream journal, but it didn't work. So I tried to write down the dream with my eyes shut, but I could understand my handwriting. *lol* There are three things that I can think of that trigger my brain into hyperdrive. One is music. I can be listening to a song and suddenly I can see images. For example, "Beauty and the Beast" by Stevie Nicks was the inspiration for a scene in one of my vampire romance stories. The other is a picture or a drawing. Recently I was checking out this website that has a display of all of Boris Vallejo's artwork, and a few of them swept me off my imagination. Finally, a shower (especially on Sundays). There's something about being alone in the bathroom showering that helps me think clearly. So what triggers those neurons in your brain and make you come up with ideas for your stories? |
posted by Silma at 8:12 AM
Comments on "Where do your ideas come from?"
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Anonymous said ... (1:56 PM) :
post a commentLOL! I asked a very similar question on my blog. For me, besides dreams (and I did dream three ideas--two of them were just a scene that sparked the story idea, one was the entire story), the one place I get the most ideas is in the shower. I don't know if it's because it's one of the few places I'm really alone, or the sound of the water, or the massaging action of the water, but it's definitely my "idea spot".
An entire in a dream? Cool! Wish I could dream like that.
Walking my dog usually produces a lot of thought on stories and story ideas.
I have ideas when I let my mind wander. I'm so focused more than half the time on some task or other. My ideas (the best ones) come to me at night as I'm drifting off to sleep. My mind winds down for the day, and I'm deluged with ideas.
Grins*
Napping can usually produce some good ideas. Mostly because if I'm napping it means I'm exhausted and in need of a good fantasy life far from my own ...
I once dreamed a short story. I tangled myself in the bedsheets and fell on my face as I raced to find a pen and paper to write it down. I wrote down the dream (er, the story) and it got published in a horror magazine. It was a nightmare, but I'm thankful I dreamed it.
I get tons of ideas from watching the news and cable documentaries!
I think when I turn in for the night and I'm not too exhausted, my brain "downloads." Images from magazines, faces of people I saw during the day, and sometimes music can trigger a scenario for me to explore in writing. I really like to people-watch. Makes me think, "How did those two meet?" or "What do they do when they're alone?"
Like Jill, napping usually gets my brain going!
I get ideas from weird dreams, sometimes they come to me in the shower, and very occasionally something (a movie/tv show, another book) will trigger an idea.