So what inspires your writing?

my writing usually takes inspiration from all kinds of things. one of my stories was inspired from tales of symphonia, dragon age, and merlin. another was inspired by a story i read about mermaids. i tend to get inspired pretty easily, though it can get a little annoying since the inspiration doesn't seem to last very long. :/

Kind of everything. I once wrote a short story about some scratches I saw on a table top...

Experience that I feel compelled to illustrate!

It's almost like an out-of-body appreciation. Sometimes I glimpse what feels like the true significance of a moment. Does that make any sense? Outside of the usual perception.

And then the endless challenge of trying to illustrate that.

Stuff. My current work is inspired by toilets, bushido, muscle-bound amazonian women, a rain forest, and hot-rods.

What got me inspired for my writing was definitely a mix of everything I have seen. American cartoons, video games, books, anime, manga, American comics, science fiction TV series, and even the crazy emotions of Korean dramas (Just a tea spoon.)

I loved to make things. Lego is my favorite toy of childhood and I still very much like seeing all the new ones. I liked to draw and experiment with every customization form in each video game I played. Wood shop was my favorite part of school in terms of classes.

So on the thought of what inspires me to write. I guess is the hope and joy of creating something for others to see and enjoy.

What inspires my writing more than anything is writing already accomplished. It seems that one idea will always breed more.

Raxis said:

Imagine a book with all those things in it

Click to expand...

And it'll be nothing like you imagined. Trust me, I take the spirit of "inspired by" to heart.

randi.lee said:

Kind of everything. I once wrote a short story about some scratches I saw on a table top...

Click to expand...

Seconding this. I've never written a story about scratches on a table, but I have got ideas from some very odd places and some not so too. The weird set up for the music video version of "Over and Over Again" by Nelly, ft Tim McGraw inspired an M/M Roamnce idea that I'll eventually get to. I've also gotten ideas from my experiences as a fanfic writer of all things, and one of these day I swear to write a Morticia and Gomez Addams inspired Dark Romance.

Dreams. Fictional people in my dreams. Attempts to explain things through analogy. My childhood. People I know. Other fiction. Random lightbulb moments.

Dreams definitely. But literally anything and everything is inspiration

Definitely traveling! I love going to really exotic places and the combination of a new culture and really tremendous scenary almost always inspires me!

I take from dreams a lot. Even if all I can recall is a single sentence, I try to see if I can build a whole story around how it came to pass. Or if there's an aspect to a story that I like I might think of how I would utilize it in my own work.

I used to hike a lot, and draw inspiration for settings from places that I've been. Where I live it's nothing but flat farmland, so when I want to show a character's feelings on seeing beautiful scenery I just think back to the times I've looked out over amazing places.

Raxis said:

I don't quite follow to be honest, but it sounds like really interesting stuff. What kind of result do you tend to get from writing such moments?

Click to expand...

Heartfelt but a little scattered.

Interesting pictures/paintings of people or fantastical elements. Gets the wheels asking questions. What kind of world is this? What kind of people? yadda yadda. Good genre music.

Personal experiences and questions I can't answer myself (or questions I can't find an answer I'm comfortable with, like does god exist? is there something after death?) so I try to answer them through my work. And obviously anime, I'm a big fan of anime (Full Metal Alchemist was a big inspiration for my first novel, even though I didn't realize that until I finished the whole trilogy) and when there's an awesome battle scene or moral dilemma the characters are dealing with, I'm often daydreaming about how my characters will react--and boom! a scene or a chapter is born

I get a lot of inspiration from dreams. Not so much plot (although that has happened too), but characters (and names for characters), quotes and phrases, and atmospheres and visual images I try to portray in poems. Sometimes I'll even dream about specific poems that I try to recreate when I wake up. My dreams have a tendency to make up new words too, but those are harder to incorporate into stories x)
From graphic novels and other text-based games I get inspiration for how to build up a compelling story.
Otherwise, impressions, stuff that I see or hear that stick with me for different reasons.

People are fascinating.

The dental assistant

Nostalgia as well sometimes.

Mt. Dew and movie soundtracks!

Mind-boggling life experiences. Also, I'm working on a novel about a place I once blogged about that gets tons of hits every day, so I know there's a lot of interest in the place. Fortunately for me, I am in a unique position to tell the story. When I worked at FedEx I wanted to write a story about a package handler, three boxes, and how the contents would change the lives of the recipients, but I haven't gotten around to it, yet. I'm also writing a book about how to use astrology to win the lottery. That is, when I'm not here goofing off. I must go work now!