Inspiration

May 07

Photo by: Stephen Coles, http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/

Research is important for a successful novel regardless of your genre. When I first started writing, I figured research was only necessary for historical fiction or Michael Crichton-type thrillers. I was certain that fantasy and futuristic writers didn’t need to bother with research. I mean, they build their own worlds. What’s there to research?

But boy was I wrong.

Research, Research, Research: Examples from the Real World

Think about the last novel you read. Now think about the details. As an example, I will use one of the last novel I read, Wondrous Strange. In this urban fantasy, the main character, Kelley, is an actress in a Shakespeare play and fairy lure is laced throughout the book. There are also other fantastical characters. To write this book, Lesley Livingston needed to be familiar with fairy tales from different cultures. She also needed to be familiar with a variety of Shakespeare plays and other fantasy creatures and the folktales that accompanied them.

My current WIP is set in the future. Like it or not, writing a book set in the future also requires research. While it is not a hard sci-fi book, readers will expect some sci-fi elements. What does the future look like? What new, amazing technology have they developed? To figure this out, I have to spend time looking at trends in technology and science and, based off of these things, make educated guesses about what these things will look like in the future.

Where do I go to Research?

Two of my main sources of research are TechCrunch and Mashable. TechCrunch blogs about technology startups and Web 2.0. Mashable is a news blog that explores web technology, news, new websites/social networks, etc. I also skim the technology and science sections in several online newspapers and follow NASA and Astronomy Magazine on Twitter. A lot of days, I don’t see anything that sparks my creativity. But sometimes, I get a little nugget that grows into an amazing idea.

Take my current WIP. The main premise came from a news story. I occasionally listen to a podcast called Mysterious Universe. I was listening to it one day and they were talking about solar flares and underground homes that are being built to protect people from these flares. So I went to the internet and started researching these things and the idea took off. What if there was a solar flare that destroyed earth and the wealthy escaped in a space ship and return years later, thinking Earth was uninhabited only to discover that people had been living in underground safety pods. Cue conflict.

No matter what genre you are writing in, you will always need to do your homework.

How do you research? Do you use research for inspiration?

Apr 11

Don't you feel inspired just looking at this photo?

It’s been over 2 months since I returned from my trip to Italy, but since I’ve been looking at description in writing, I figured it was high time I went back to that trip and shared what I learned.

Do real life experiences breed better description?

If you recall, one of the reasons I was so eager for my trip to Italy was to scope out Pompeii for a possible book idea. While there, I discovered a lot more than what I set out to discover.

Originally I was only interested in Pompeii. I wanted to check out the site, get some impressions of what it is like coming up to it, how well preserved it is, that sort of thing. I wanted to feel what my MC would feel as he arrived at the site. Little did I know I would come back with a lot more ideas, and none of them related to the story I set out to research.

Naples, surprisingly enough, provided more inspiration than Pompeii. Naples is a medieval town, despite it being 2011. There are still narrow cobble-stoned streets, twisting alleyways, and the best part of it, it hasn’t been modernized the way Rome or Munich or other large European towns have. Because of this, I felt like I was being catapulted back in time.

Relying on all of the senses to open your mind to inspiration

The sights, smells, and even sounds all called to me, filling my senses and giving me some great ideas for descriptions -ideas that I could never have honed in on that well without first-hand experience. Things like the way the street lights reflected off of cobblestones after a day of rain, or the sound of rain hitting those cobblestones, or the energy of a small cafe in the late afternoon, or the adrenaline rush as a car comes racing towards you down a narrow alleyway, searching for a place to move to avoid being hit, and being terrified that the car will smack into the walls closing in on it from every angle. Even the feeling of being surrounded by these high walls with little room for escape provided inspiration.

Inspiration is every where, if you know how to look for it

Part of why the environment affected me so much may have been because I set out to be affected. I kept my mind open, I absorbed everything like a sponge. I wanted to remember the sensations and, as a result, I got some really good material for a future book.

Of course, you don’t have to travel all the way to Italy to get inspiration. There is inspiration everywhere. Walk outside and observe what you see, pretending like you are a stranger to the area. Look at things from an outsider’s point-of-view and you just might be surprised by all the things you pick up on, all the new sensations you become aware of.

Do you rely on real-life for inspiration? How do you turn on your senses to really see, hear, smell, and feel things, even things you are very familiar with?

Jan 30

You may be asking yourself, what’s with all the book reviews lately? Isn’t this a writing site? Weren’t there only supposed to be 2 reviews a month?

And you would be right to ask. This is, after all, a really good question. Let’s step back for a moment. Think about any expert in any field. If you work in technology, you probably keep up-to-date with the current trends in technology. If you are a scientist, I bet you read new journal articles in your area of interest. Well, the same is true for writers.

Sure, a writer could write with no research, but I question how good the writing will be. Writing is about more than just good grammer. It is about being a good storyteller. And what better way to research this craft than to look at other storytellers, to see what works and what doesn’t? To see how they tell a story? Not that you should copy someone else’s style, but picking up a few tips here and there is definitely not a bad thing. And that leads me to the recent book reviews.

It’s not that I’ve started reading more. I’m reading as much as I always have. But I’m thinking more about what I read. And writing reviews helps me to think about the books even more. Plus, by sharing my thoughts on a book, maybe I will help other writers out there. If you are struggling with voice, what better way to understand it than to read good and bad examples? If you want to get better at character development, why not check out books with a strong focus on this?

Of course, there is another reason to share my reviews. Every time I share a review, I may be introducing one of you, my readers, to a new author or a new genre. And what could be better then finding new, exciting things to read?

If you have found any new, exciting reads I’ve missed or just not gotten to yet, let me know. Nothing beats a good read.

Jan 19

I’m off to Italy for a long weekend of relaxation and inspiration. While I will be without internet, I have gone ahead and scheduled a couple of posts, including a review of Anna and the French Kiss (check it out on Friday).

I think travel is one of the best ways to get inspired. Getting out of your box, even if it’s just to go an hour away, gives you a fresh perspective. It lets you get outside of your head. It exposes you to new perspectives, new settings, new people. All things that are extremely valuable tools for a writer.

Researching through first-hand experience

For a while now I’ve been mulling over a fantasy plot that begins in Pompeii. I can look at pictures and read accounts written by people who have been to the ruins, but nothing works better than first hand experience. Of course, I could come back with a completely different idea, or I could come home with nothing, but that’s part of the fun of doing first-hand research. And what better place to do it than in Italy?

How do you research? Do you travel to find inspiration for settings and character? Do you rely on books and the internet? Or are you able to pull everything from your imagination?

Sep 15

If you didn’t guess from the title, I’m in New York for the week. Sadly I’m here for work, not pleasure, but being a work trip and all, at least it’s a free trip. As a writer, you can never go wrong with free things.

New York is Where it’s at

I’ve read a lot of things recently, including an article in the newest Writer’s Digest, that New York is the place to be for writers. Of course, the plethora of publishing houses in New York is a big contributor is this notion, but walking around the city, I stumbled upon something else. New York is a great place for writers because there are so many characters. You step onto the street and you are surrounded by people from every walk of life. Not only that, but the ‘settings’ are equally as varied. Example: last night I ate dinner in an authentic southern BBQ place. Tonight I went to a very French fondue restaurant. In both cases, I felt like I had been transported out of New York to a southern town and a Paris restaurant respectively. Not only did the food leave me feeling this way, but the decor and overall ambiance also contributed. What better inspiration could you want?

Of course, that being said, when the Internet in my hotel was down for several hours today, I took a walk and then watched t.v. instead of writing. But that’s an entirely different issue.

Sep 02

When writing for a younger audience, the words ‘move move move’ keep repeating through my head. I want the action to fly so the young readers don’t lose interest. But as a result, is my plot suffering?

I’ve been feeling like something is not working with the plot. The concept seems good, but there hasn’t been enough time to properly develop the characters, which is especially a shame since I spent days writing out character bios.

Filling out the Scenes

What do you do when you realize you have enough plot to move into a second book? Unfortunately, the only good answer I could come up with was to go back, start from the beginning, and add scenes. Make the action more action packed, make the build-up more of a build-up. And most importantly, give me room to let the characters grow.

Starting with the editing suggestion by Carmella on MiG Writers, (see my post from 8/7/2010) I printed the pages out as though it were a book (2-column, landscape). I then have been painstakingly sifting through my writing, searching for areas that are weak, areas where I can add another scene. In addition, I am compiling lists of additional scenes I can create, scenes that will really show what it is the characters are struggling with.

While this is slow going, I’ve gotta say I’m already feeling better about the book. And I love editing onto pages that are formatted like a book. It makes it feel more real; it allows me to believe that someday my WIP will be a book.

How do you flesh out your story?

Aug 06

I think the hardest part about writing (for me anyway) is coming up with a stellar concept. While browsing the web, I came across this great post on MiG Writers (a great blog for middle grade and young adult writers) titled Finding a Rocking Premise. Christina Farley lists the following steps for come up with a premise:

Daydream
Brainstorm
Research
Have a critique group or writing buddy
Choose your favorite/best idea

To add to the above list, while brainstorming and researching, some things that help me find inspiration for my concepts are:

Flickr – I like to look at the top photos of the day/week/month/etc. and see if any of the subject matters catch hold of me. I often copy the inspiring photos into a word document and then write out my ideas and a short plot sketch right alongside the photo.
Art museum – art is a great source of inspiration
Watching kids in the park – not in a creepy way, but rather to see what excites kids. The smallest sentence overheard can develop into a full plot
Reading the news – stories in the news can provide great inspiration. I often try to think what would happen if the story were taken to a new level, or if society were completely changed because of this one story.

While I spend 2/3 of my writing time writing, the other 1/3 is spent daydreaming/brainstorming new concepts to add to the future books folder. It’s nice to take a mental break from my current story, and knowing that I have things in the pipeline encourages me to write faster so I can explore where the next book will take me.

How do you come up with your concepts?

For additional resources on choosing a concept, check out today’s post on Ask the Publishing Guru, The Right Write Idea.

Aug 02

We all get it, some worse than others. But is it really writer’s block? In a post on The Urban Muse, Is it Writer’s Block? Or Overthinking?, the writer examines the real reason behind writer’s block. Perhaps we are not interested in the project at hand, and, like a child being told to do their homework, fall into a mental slump. Or maybe we are over-thinking our writing. Instead of just getting something down and coming back later to revise the content, we worry about getting it just right or obsess about an idea not being perfect. We are so afraid of failure that we do not give ourselves the opportunity to fail.

Sometimes the best cure for me is to take a walk or go for a run. Or if its been a while since I last read my content, I do a reread and mild edits. Usually this happens when I have decided my work is rubbish, and the reread helps me see that its not actually as bad as I thought. Copyblogger recently posted a post about stepping back and putting your work into perspective:

Let it rest (at least 24 hours)
Read as a reader – I find it easier to do this if I’m reading a hard copy. Something about a hard copy makes it feel more real.
Ask for feedback
Proofread

Check out the blog for additional details on each suggestion. It was an interesting post.

Another post with good suggestions for ways to break through writer’s block is from Time to Write. And if worst comes to worst, apparently a half hour of exercise can boost creativity, plus it keeps you healthy.

Jul 28

In my attempts to enter the minds of kids, I’ve been spending a lot of time perusing children news sources, which are surprisingly abundant. One recent find was an article in National Geographic Kids, Beelzebufo: A Giant of a Find. Talk about great inspiration. After all, what’s cooler than a frog the size of a beach ball?

In other news, a bear in New Hampshire ‘rescued’ a stuffed bear being held captive by humans. Read about it here.

Finally, a boat made out of plastic crossed the Atlantic.

You’ve gotta love the inspiration you can get from bizarre happenings in the world.

Researching the Novel

Research, Research, Research: Examples from the Real World

Where do I go to Research?

Finding Description Inspiration from Real Life

Do real life experiences breed better description?

Relying on all of the senses to open your mind to inspiration

Reading for Research

And I’m off…

Researching through first-hand experience

New York, New York

Slowing down the Action

Filling out the Scenes

Coming up with a Concept

Combating Writer's Block

News for Kids