How or Where do you find inspiration for writing?

[Karmack]

Hey guys!  Thought I'd kick this off.  :-)  I'm sitting here, listening to the soundtrack from "Jurassic Park" as I do some writing, and it occurred to me that I always have music playing in the background when I write.  I tend to tailor it to what I'm working on as well.  For example, when I'm writing a battle scene I will often pop in the soundtrack from "Kingdom of Heaven" and listen to selections.  Or Holst's "The Planets: Mars, Bringer of War" or maybe, like today, Jurassic Park.

I find I listen to a lot of John Williams...  :-)

The upshot is I listen to inspiring music to get my creative juices flowing.  But then, I'm a 'singer' so...

What do y'all do to find your muse?

[Illyiss]

Motivation for me comes from various places.  What I'm feeling, things going on around me or with the world at large.  For story writing, music or movies, something going in the background to allow my brain to tune the random trains of thought to that, while I run with writing.

[TheDrunkenConsular]

I drawn inspiration from my characters, and my characters are based on people from my life a lot of times.  For example, Berra Tarun is based on best friend, Nadia and Anton were inspired by two Serbian bartenders I once met, and Rakham Crescentfall and Marz Arronak are based on myself and a persona of mine, respectively.

From there, the characters take on life of their own, and they inspire me to write stories for them.

[Taegin Roan]

That's a hard question. For me, at least part of my inspiration comes from you guys. Without you, I would never have begun SotO. But also, I have a story that needs telling, and I can't find any way of doing that except by writing it. I usually end up writing a little bit before bed, and so I generally don't put on music, but it would probably help. I don't think there is any one thing that gives me inspiration to write. I think maybe some of it comes from my love of books. I would almost rather read a book than watch a movie. The authors I read are phenomenal writers, so that probably gives some inspiration as well.

[Saso Is-kor]

That's cool about using music to get the creativity flowing, can't say I have ever done that. I'm with Taegin, this is tough to answer. Kind of like explaining how your brain works. I have a super active imagination and so when an idea for a story or more specifically some Star Wars fan fiction pops in there it usually takes root. Within that first ten seconds or so I've already usually composed the opening of the story and what direction it'll take. I've learned over the years that I almost immediately have to write at least part of it down, sometimes really good little quotes or attitudes of the characters or storyline can disappear over time (kind of like when you wake up and can remember a dream perfectly, then in about 10 minutes it seems like all of it is totally gone.)

I suppose I haven't really answered the original question at all lol, I guess I just write to empty the ideas from my head so that there is more usable space up there.

As far as during the writing I like to close my eyes and actually envision myself being the character and what they're going through. This gives me what their posture is like, their facial expressions, their attitude, etc. Sometimes I'll even act it out. Like for example, if a commander is walking down a line inspecting his Imperial troops you'll find yourself actually tapping into the activity by acting it. I find my arms crossed naturally behind my back, stiff posture, narrowed eyes for inspection, a serious look on the face, etc. Writing is such a fun thing to do.

[Lord_S_Gray]

I tend to get most of my ideas out running listening to the mp3... but inspiration from lots of sources...often about history or other sci fi and think why doesn't/shouldn't SW have a similar event...e.g. aethans were partially inspired by the Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) in Warhammer...I kept thinking everyone knows about the force...they have cloning tech why wouldn't someone try and make an army with that..but then the other part is I have to think what makes sense...if it did exist why doesn't anyone know about them...so that spurs thinking about next step.  Works at a smaller level to, if person X does y how would person Z react...leads to a chain of causality in my head that I just follow to its conclusion and then there you have it!

[TheDutchman]

I love that you posited this, Karm 

I have a combination of inspirations: I too listen to music often times when I write.  I listen to all kinds of music, but in particular "Moonlight Sonata," "Adagio in D Minor," "Lux Aetnae" (and its variant "Requiem for a Tower") are some of my favorites.  But also the people in my life are integral to my writing.  D'Aylanna IS my wife   

But A LOT of what inspires me is also an unrealized backstory that I have in my mind floating around (most times general and without many details) until I focus upon them.  One case in point is Kazic: I knew that Zearic would have a master who would find him.  And that was it, at least to begin with.  But I also figured that Kazic would also be D'Aylanna's master.  Then, I kept thinking of the Vhal'Dan Civil War...and I thought what species in SW was long-lived...and came up with the Anzati.  And that fully formed Kazic for me.

Great subject Karm!  And I love hearing about everyone else's inspirations 

[Karmack]

Thanks guys!  I love hearing the different approaches as well!  Thanks for sharing!  :-)

*pops in some music*

[Sani2341]

For me it depends quite a bit on what phase of the writing I am on, as I write most things, that are not some scientific paper/report for college at least, first on a paper notebook, which normally happens when and where ever I find the time/muse and then I do a bit of a rework and minor edits when i actually type it down on my PC, during which i normally listen to some Music, or have some show playing on Netflix on another monitor.

[Karmack]

I used to write on paper as well, kept everything in notebooks, but I've started using notepad these days.  I generally begin with a title and very short synopsis of what the story is about.  Then if there's some specific quote or idea or scene I want to include or which is serving as teh inspiration for the piece, I add that.  Then I lay out a chapter/outline.  Then I repeat the process for each chapter - a synopsis, and any special quote or event that happens in that chapter.  And as I invent or name new characters (or pull in existing characters) I keep a running character list for reference.

Generally all while listening to some piece of appropriate music.  :-)  Though I have spent a lot of time writing recently while listening to BBC CH4 historical documentaries....   LOL  Love the Time Team and the Monarchy series... 

[Taegin Roan]

Annoyingly, there are quite a few times when I am laying in bed, about to fall asleep, when my brain thinks of something that would fit really well in the story, or somehow strengthen the narrative. Then I have to decide whether it is important enough to get up and right down right away, or if I think I can remember it in the morning. Usually I end up writing it down. Other times, the inspiration or ideas come to me when I am in the middle of something that I am unable to write the ideas down, so I have to try and remember them. Sadly, this doesn't always work, and I end up forgetting what I had.

[Karmack]

Yeah, that's happened to me as well.  Though with me it often happens when I am in the shower.  I have resorted to dictating messages to my wife via Siri... 

[Taegin Roan]

Yeah, that's happened to me as well.  Though with me it often happens when I am in the shower.  I have resorted to dictating messages to my wife via Siri... 

Haha, yeah. If it happens while in the shower, it is usually fine, because I can just think about it until I get out, and hopefully build on the idea to a point where it is more that just an idea. But there are times that Siri is nice.

[Saso Is-kor]

Annoyingly, there are quite a few times when I am laying in bed, about to fall asleep, when my brain thinks of something that would fit really well in the story, or somehow strengthen the narrative. Then I have to decide whether it is important enough to get up and right down right away, or if I think I can remember it in the morning. Usually I end up writing it down. Other times, the inspiration or ideas come to me when I am in the middle of something that I am unable to write the ideas down, so I have to try and remember them. Sadly, this doesn't always work, and I end up forgetting what I had.

Same here, I've found that keeping a small notepad next to the bed can really help when those ideas start appearing just before sleep. I think one of the coolest things is that your brain is actually working on the story even when you aren't really conscious of it, that's why these "breakthrough" ideas come seemingly out of nowhere when it's actually far from that. It's neat stuff.

[TheDutchman]

Likewise...except replace "notebook" and "Siri" with my wife 

I suspect she knows more about some of my characters than I do