Do you have to be a fantasy reader to be a fantasy writer?

[Devor]

Am I close Devor?

Yes, thanks T.Allen. I'm only saying that it's important to start working on your creativity early, when it's still easy to see where your ideas are being triggered and why. I haven't in any way meant to suggest that people should stagnate at that point at that point in their reading.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

The other disconnect seems to be in the comparison of "What if...?" to Devor's replacement of trigger words. I agree they seem similar on the surface, although Devor's method digs a bit deeper than asking a simple question. On the other end, I acknowledge that one question (What if?) can be followed by another, eventually leading to something far and away from the original question which sparked thought. The "What if?" questions are also tried and true, so there's a tendency to cling onto, or defend, that method. Why?... Because it works.

As I said above, there are probably lots of methods and techniques to develop creative thought. The particular example of changing trigger words Devor expresses throughout the thread may not work for you. The idea isn't bound to the acceptance of that technique alone. Rather, he is trying to illustrate the importance of searching out techniques that work for you as a writer outside of reading alone.

 

[Devor]

Rather, it is to establish the importance of creative thinking which has it's roots deep within the author. It may not be stimilus free, meaning we are all a product of our environment, but those exercises can draw upon creativity which may remain untapped if the reliance on fantasy media for ideas overwhlems the author's ability to think outside genre lines.

I wish I had a few more minutes I would try to think of an example of triggering ideas from within a fantasy book. Creativity is an internal skill. You see something, your brain makes connections. Certain ideas stored in your brain surfaced because they were triggered by something. What do you focus on? What connections are you making? What ideas are planting for your readers? How can you unlock the mystery around that process and get beyond the first few ideas that come to mind? The longer you wait to dissect that internal process, the more it floods with connections and becomes a big blur.

Books can be a great inspiration, in some ways. I've elsewhere defended writing stories about trolls and orcs and elves, and urged the importance of recognizing tropes and understanding how they're used. Heck, I've tried on multiple occasions to organize fantasy book reviews on Mythic Scribes and to press people to share about which books they've found the most useful as writers and why. But those inspirations shouldn't replace the development of your own internal creative abilities.