Why Write: #3 – Inspiration

Okay, so we’ve talked about having that little spark of something other to put into your book, and about knowing when to stop.

Today, we’re going to talk about getting started.  Primarily by way of “inspiration”.

To be honest, if you haven’t got inspiration, you’re not really going to get anywhere.  If you weren’t inspired by something, you wouldn’t be wanting to write a book.  So if you have no inspiration, go and get some.

Inspiration can come from anywhere.  I know people who are inspired by songs, weird animals, pictures, films, books, you name it.  Among my own inspirations, I include conversations, unusual names and a large red sarcophagus sitting in the Vatican Museum that contained the remains of Emperor Constantine’s mother, Helen.  I know.  I’m weird.

There are several important things to do with the inspiration you get.

      1)      Make sure that you don’t write a carbon copy of whatever “inspired” you.  That’s not inspiration.  That’s plagiarism.

      2)      Make sure you can actually go somewhere with it.  As in, sit and have a think, and ask yourself whether you can really turn Aunt Hilda’s hilarious reaction to an unwanted birthday present into a forty-two-book-long epic saga.

      3)      Sit on it and wait.

      4)      Go and get some more inspiration.  From anywhere.

      5)      See if you can combine this inspiration in different ways or merge them or something.

Last time I did 5), I ended up with an epic fantasy five-book series with eight main characters and the most complicated plot I’ve ever thought out.  I was fourteen back then.  And I don’t do simple plots.

Oh, and 6) If you think it’s worth it, don’t let the inspiration fade away.  But know the difference between a good idea to write and something that sounds cool but isn’t.

If you’re stuck for inspiration, just look at the world around you.  What might be an interesting story behind the whorl in that tree?  Was it really that girl’s boyfriend dumping her that made her sing a sad song, or is it something else?  Uncle Gerard insists he has a birthmark, but what if it was a mark for something else?

Whatever you see, as the question WHAT IF.  You might be surprised at the response.

Oh, this was a short one!  Aren’t we lucky?

Until next time….

TBG <3

Top Hat, Old Chap!/Meet the Island: #2 -- Period Dramas

I really can't help myself on this one.  I was going to do something on the Olympics, or possibly the Paralympics, but I wasn't really on my computer for most of those, and when I was, I wasn't in blogging mode.  (I know.  I'm a terrible blogger.)  Instead, why don't we have something on something that's perhaps not quintessentially British, but that, well, is fairly British?  Let's talk about period dramas.

I saw an American actor in the newspaper saying recently that the Brits are the best at putting on period dramas.  Thank you, whoever you are.  We're flattered.  And we try.  There have been some brilliant ones -- Blackadder did a few, though they were also satirical, and then you get other ones like Upstairs, Downstairs which our parents remember from when they were young, and so on.

Okay, now I'm going to stop pretending to talk about the entire range of period dramas, because there's only really one I want to talk about.  Downtown Abbey's first episode for Season Three aired last Sunday night in the UK.  Sorry to all you guys who have to wait.  And it was awesome.  Matthew and Mary are finally getting married!  Of course, there are other problems along the way, and I have a feeling there is possibly something nasty lying in wait for Bates (his new cell mate doesn't get on with him).  And of course, a new disaster has struck Downtown.  I'm not saying what, though.

In short, I absolutely love this series.  So does my entire family.  I've never seen my mum so excited to watch TV.  The actors are fantastic; the plot is brilliant; the setting, costumes, research... everything is just fantastic. Obviously, the show's not for everyone, but there's no denying that it's really good.  The writer, Julian Fellowes, is an OB from my school.  Apparently he found an exchange of letters from around that time period between various relatives of his, and he used them for inspiration.  If you've never watched Downtown Abbey, I highly recommend you do.  It's fantastic.  And I'm just really annoyed that I won't be able to watch episode two on Sunday, because I'm not going to be in the UK.