what sort of news, etc do you read for inspiration?

A.V. Hollingshead · Mar 19, 2011

News? I read Al Jazeera and BBC to keep up to date on world events, but I don't think I really use it to get inspiration for my story. I might watch FOX to watch some masters of fantasy at work, though.

benbradley · Mar 19, 2011

As for SF inspiration (I've got story ideas and don't feel I NEED inspiration, but I'm so geeky I love this stuff anyway), there's things like the TED talks, and a few techy news aggregation sites such as these:
http://www.singularityhub.com/
http://www.robots.net/

One of the most dramatic things I've seen lately is THIS GUY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eZlLNVmaPbM#at=30
If you're wondering why he acts so odd, the full story behind him is here:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/latest-geminoid-is-disturbingly-realistic
which was linked to from the robots.net site, and also covered on Singularityhub.

The hummingbird on robots.net is quite amazing as well.

ETA: This is cute, he appears to have the attention of all the women:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snB24BHw1mw&NR=1

peter darbyshire · Mar 19, 2011

I love business stories about new trends/products. Businesses are constantly finding innovative ways of getting into our minds, or creating new products that change everything, but their motives can be problematic, so it's interesting reading for sci-fi. To me, business journalism is the absurdist literature of the 21st century.

A few reviewers talked about my latest book as a sci-fi novel because of the weird things going on it -- holograms, neuromarketing, live video feeds of mall uprisings -- and I was kind of going for a "tomorrow's headlines" feel. But everything in the book grew out of real things today. Actually, I guess at this point it's an alternate history....

I also find random videos on YouTube can be a great source to get ideas going. A while back I came across the "gunsight porn" genre, which was videos of people having sex in their yards and on boats and such, taken by the gun cameras of military/police helicopters hovering some distance away (and thus unnoticed by the amorous couples). I thought, W.T.F. Then I thought, "Oh, must use that...."

Kitty Pryde · Mar 20, 2011

For me, I like more of the weird human interest stories, like what people will do to cover up a crime, or the lengths someone will go to for a small sum of money, or strange and tragic deaths, your average everyday alarming human melodrama.

jenelcc · Mar 20, 2011

I think travel news, especially if it has pictures is good for helping with fantasy writing. For me there is something inherently imaginative about seeing vivid pictures of a physical space that's so different from my everyday surroundings. Of course, real travel would do that to, but pictures are cheaper!

ConChron · Mar 21, 2011

My main interests are history, science, anthropology and social anthropology, I subscribe to several magazines and I often find inspiration there.

Sai · Mar 21, 2011

Any kind of news can inspire a story, but I do like to read Wired for ideas about new technology.

muravyets · Mar 21, 2011

Fantasy: http://thesurrealist.co.uk/fantasy

Scifi: http://thesurrealist.co.uk/scifi

Liosse de Velishaf · Mar 21, 2011

Blogs dealing with SF writing or related subjects.

China Mieville gave a great interview about trap rooms on an architectural/urban planning blog, and I found it quite inspirational.

peter darbyshire · Mar 21, 2011

Liosse de Velishaf said:
Blogs dealing with SF writing or related subjects.

China Mieville gave a great interview about trap rooms on an architectural/urban planning blog, and I found it quite inspirational.

Was that the BLDGBLOG interview? I love that site -- every post is a revelation.

Shadow_Ferret · Mar 21, 2011

News? What's that?

LaceWing · Mar 21, 2011

TED Talks,
Fora TV,
Open Culture,
3 Quarks Daily,
The Browser,
frontsection.net,
whiskey river,
metafilter,
Imaginary Foundation,
Mind Hacks

Liosse de Velishaf · Mar 21, 2011

peter darbyshire said:
Was that the BLDGBLOG interview? I love that site -- every post is a revelation.

Yes, yes it was. I only found a few other really interesting topics on the blog, but maybe sometime in the future I'll go back and fine more of it inspirational.

Matthew Colville · Mar 22, 2011

I strongly recommend a great podcast called This American Life. It's whole thesis is about how interesting normal people are.

I feel like, as an author, it's my job to create interesting and plausible people and for that, This American Life is like a master-class in personality, psychology, motivation.

I often find myself reeling at the naked humanity within. You know, part of the narrative is, or should be, putting real attitudes and reactions in front of the reader and every once in a while I find myself stunned by something incredibly simple, but my reaction is "THAT is a human reaction!" As opposed to something we authors concoct for the sake of the narrative.

Sarpedon · Mar 22, 2011

I read news from India. Strange things are always happening there, like the tapioca stealing elephants, frog marriages and the sandalwood smuggling, bollywood actor kidnapping bandit who drank from the skull of a park ranger he killed.

Nick Blaze · Mar 22, 2011

I try my best to stay away from the news. It's too depressing for its own good so I don't want to taint my work with only sorrow. :/

benbradley · Mar 22, 2011

Matthew Colville said:
I strongly recommend a great podcast called This American Life. It's whole thesis is about how interesting normal people are.

I feel like, as an author, it's my job to create interesting and plausible people and for that, This American Life is like a master-class in personality, psychology, motivation.

I often find myself reeling at the naked humanity within. You know, part of the narrative is, or should be, putting real attitudes and reactions in front of the reader and every once in a while I find myself stunned by something incredibly simple, but my reaction is "THAT is a human reaction!" As opposed to something we authors concoct for the sake of the narrative.

I have mixed feelings about that show (it plays Sunday evenings on the local NPR affiliate), I've never heard anything so chock-full of drama, strange things like (this isn't an actual situation that I remember, but it seems typical) a couple married for decades who never discussed some Vitally Important Issue in their lives.There was the woman who was adopted, and her birth family lived in the same town, they went to the Catholic church one time and saw a family with children who looked just like her...it goes on and on, and I can only wonder how that guy finds all these people. It's horrible, things get so bad I can't stand to hear what happens next, but how else am I going to hear the whole story...

what sort of news, etc do you read for inspiration?

satyesu

A.V. Hollingshead

Vive la révolution littéraire!

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

peter darbyshire

Kitty Pryde

i luv you giant bear statue

jenelcc

A good kind of crazy

ConChron

Sai

Book lover/Spy

muravyets

Old revolutionary

Liosse de Velishaf

peter darbyshire

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

LaceWing

Liosse de Velishaf

Matthew Colville

Sarpedon

Nick Blaze

Jun-Ikkyu

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world