tiefighter35
Acolyte
I often times find myself in the "mood" to write a story or come up with a character, but when I sit down in front of my computer all of a sudden, my mind is just blank. How do you solve this issue?
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Where do you get inspiration.
- Thread starter tiefighter35
- Start date
Gurkhal
Auror
History is my standard source of inspiration.
Naruzeldamaster
Auror
My source of inspiration is somewhat silly.
While I am enjoying various forms of media (Video games, movies etc)
I'm constantly going 'ok what if this was like that and that was like this'
Granted 90% of these are plot bunnies that never see the light of day. But Still.
While I am enjoying various forms of media (Video games, movies etc)
I'm constantly going 'ok what if this was like that and that was like this'
Granted 90% of these are plot bunnies that never see the light of day. But Still.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Just start typing, even if the opening sentence it bad. When it starts to flow, go back and adjust.
I get through it with a phrase...Write it ugly.
I get through it with a phrase...Write it ugly.
Leon809
New Member
Just start typing a story, just for fun! You'd be surprised by what comes to fruition when the pressure is off.
Malik
Auror
I have a guy in Poughkeepsie, runs a shop called The Inspiration Store. For $25 a month he sends me an individualized dose of writing inspiration. Strong recommend. Tell him I sent you.
Reverie_everbleedingheart
New Member
I often find inspiration in daily life at least for my characters. Though when making scenes I often let myself daydream, listen to music, or just force myself to write.
Generally, my inspiration comes from simply living life.
Now with that said, having a broad strokes understanding of what a story is can help focus your thoughts in the right direction.
Others may have different thoughts on this, but this is mine. A story in very broad strokes is someone with a problem, an obstacle standing in the way of them solving said problem, and the struggles of the main character to solve the problem.
If you have a character, ask yourself what kinds of problems they have in their lives. Usually these problems stem from their personal desires stemming from the environment they're living in. Do they want a promotion? Do they want to ask their crush out for coffee? Do they want to take a magical ring down a treacherous path and drop it into a volcano?
In longer stories the character usually has two primary desires, an external desire and an inner desire. The external desire generally takes the form of a journey of some sort. Sometimes that's a literal journey like Frodo taking the ring to Mt. Doom. It can also be something like winning a contest or finishing rebuilding a classic muscle car.
The inner desire is emotional in nature. It the thing that tends to give the external desire meaning. Frodo wants to protect the ones he loves in the Shire. Winning that contest will allow them to use the prize money to save grandmother's house. Finishing rebuilding that muscle car completes what their dead father started and brings them spiritually closer.
You want desires to have clear steps to achieving them. If the steps aren't clear, the story can wander and be murky in what's going on and why. A character may want world peace, but how would they go about achieving that specifically? That desire is murky, but destroying a ring to deprive the evil wizard of their power isn't.
The steps to achieving the character's desires forms the basis for the general flow of the story. Each step will have an obstacle or obstacles preventing the character from achieving them. When faced with an obstacle, there are 4 possible outcomes. Yes, the obstacle is overcome. No, it hasn't been overcome. Yes, but there are consequences. No, and it gets worse.
The outright yes outcome only happens once in a story, and that's at the end. Otherwise every attempt will result in the character seemingly being pushed further and further from their goals and getting in deeper and deeper trouble, where new obstacles will arise.
Now with that said, having a broad strokes understanding of what a story is can help focus your thoughts in the right direction.
Others may have different thoughts on this, but this is mine. A story in very broad strokes is someone with a problem, an obstacle standing in the way of them solving said problem, and the struggles of the main character to solve the problem.
If you have a character, ask yourself what kinds of problems they have in their lives. Usually these problems stem from their personal desires stemming from the environment they're living in. Do they want a promotion? Do they want to ask their crush out for coffee? Do they want to take a magical ring down a treacherous path and drop it into a volcano?
In longer stories the character usually has two primary desires, an external desire and an inner desire. The external desire generally takes the form of a journey of some sort. Sometimes that's a literal journey like Frodo taking the ring to Mt. Doom. It can also be something like winning a contest or finishing rebuilding a classic muscle car.
The inner desire is emotional in nature. It the thing that tends to give the external desire meaning. Frodo wants to protect the ones he loves in the Shire. Winning that contest will allow them to use the prize money to save grandmother's house. Finishing rebuilding that muscle car completes what their dead father started and brings them spiritually closer.
You want desires to have clear steps to achieving them. If the steps aren't clear, the story can wander and be murky in what's going on and why. A character may want world peace, but how would they go about achieving that specifically? That desire is murky, but destroying a ring to deprive the evil wizard of their power isn't.
The steps to achieving the character's desires forms the basis for the general flow of the story. Each step will have an obstacle or obstacles preventing the character from achieving them. When faced with an obstacle, there are 4 possible outcomes. Yes, the obstacle is overcome. No, it hasn't been overcome. Yes, but there are consequences. No, and it gets worse.
The outright yes outcome only happens once in a story, and that's at the end. Otherwise every attempt will result in the character seemingly being pushed further and further from their goals and getting in deeper and deeper trouble, where new obstacles will arise.
Prince of Spires
Istar
To me it feels like you're asking two separate and very different questions. The first is where do you get inspiration, and the second is how do you manage to turn that inspiration into a story.
They're very different things, and the best way to approach them is to treat them as very different things.
Inspiration is what gives you the idea of the story. It's that one scene that you clearly see in your head that makes you want to write the story. Or that wonderful character or weird setting or interesting plot idea. You can find those everywhere. They're the in the shower ideas. Or when taking a walk. Or when reading a book. The best way to get inspiration is to give your head some time to wander. Or to visit wonderful new places.
For me personally, I get loads of ideas when writing. My head always comes up with wonderful, very different stories I really should write. It's my head tempting me because writing is hard and my brain doesn't like doing hard work.
When writing the actual story, inspiration doesn't matter all that much. It's perspiration that gets words on the page. As others mentioned, sitting down and writing is how stories get done.
That doesn't help much though. What actually helped me finish stories is plotting them. I used to be the same in that I would have a wonderful idea. I'd maybe get a chapter written, and then I'd run out of steam. I'd be out of ideas and I'd have no clue what to write next.
That changed when I started plotting out my stories. Nothing major, just a general idea of what would happen next. It helps a lot to sit down at the start of a writing session and take 5 minutes to write down (as a summary) what I'm going to be writing. I also plot out the whole story so I roughly know the direction I'm heading in. This combination of high level and low level planning makes my life a lot easier.
They're very different things, and the best way to approach them is to treat them as very different things.
Inspiration is what gives you the idea of the story. It's that one scene that you clearly see in your head that makes you want to write the story. Or that wonderful character or weird setting or interesting plot idea. You can find those everywhere. They're the in the shower ideas. Or when taking a walk. Or when reading a book. The best way to get inspiration is to give your head some time to wander. Or to visit wonderful new places.
For me personally, I get loads of ideas when writing. My head always comes up with wonderful, very different stories I really should write. It's my head tempting me because writing is hard and my brain doesn't like doing hard work.
When writing the actual story, inspiration doesn't matter all that much. It's perspiration that gets words on the page. As others mentioned, sitting down and writing is how stories get done.
That doesn't help much though. What actually helped me finish stories is plotting them. I used to be the same in that I would have a wonderful idea. I'd maybe get a chapter written, and then I'd run out of steam. I'd be out of ideas and I'd have no clue what to write next.
That changed when I started plotting out my stories. Nothing major, just a general idea of what would happen next. It helps a lot to sit down at the start of a writing session and take 5 minutes to write down (as a summary) what I'm going to be writing. I also plot out the whole story so I roughly know the direction I'm heading in. This combination of high level and low level planning makes my life a lot easier.
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