I was just marveling out how the last 5 or so projects I've had were inspired by seemingly random things in my life. For example, a pilot I'm writing came to me when I was playing a slot game on my phone, and the story has nothing to do with gambling!
What are some of the unexpected things/places that have inspired you?
Love it! My husband's a locksmith so I see a lot of those. And yes, he has inspired a story, too. :-)
1 person likes this
It usually comes when I least expect it (naturally). Walking my dog, taking a shower, trying to fall asleep
Video games, anime, classic BBC television (namely Blake's 7 and Red Dwarf) and the music of Genesis all help me. :)
I write a lot of humor, so the nightly news is a rich source for me and I've gotten several ideas from story songs.
Ah yes Stefano Pavone Red Dwarf is a classic!
Good point, Doug Nelson! When truth is stranger than fiction...
1 person likes this
Had an idea for a comedy short when i was looking at a donut once
I took a course once at the University of Chicago Writer's studio on this very topic, and the exercise was to sit quietly and just listen to what is inside, and then write down something that comes to you from inside. That one exercise lead to me writing 2 scripts. So much inspiration is bubbling up inside each of us!
Mostly they come from me dwelling on things too much - the nature of roses, why my teenage granddaughter likes Vans (shoes), and other, less profound, things. :)
1 person likes this
I was inspired to write a sci-fi TV series about the rise and fall of galactic emperor because of a line I heard in the rap song "Power" by Kanye West: "No one man should have all that power" There's another line in the rap: 21st century schizoid man. So I changed 21st century to 31st century and a new project was born. Proving inspiration can come from anywhere.
1 person likes this
What a great story, Martin Reese! I wrote an entire fantasy script based on one line from Insane Clown Posse of all groups. Was hanging out at a friend's house, heard the line and the rest is history. You just never know!
I start with a question or a scene. I am always wondering how would I film that. So my stuff tends to be contained. Someone recently described my stuff as ‘claustrophobic”. I am happy with that.
1 person likes this
Where do dreams come from? Same place. Good writing is lucid dreaming. I get ideas from my own experiences, memories, events I see or hear. True stories that inspire me. And events that I hear about and think "That's wild - what if ..."
I had one script come to me whole in a dream/nightmare. Another came to me in a flash when I read an old inscription in a book someone had given me. Some I write fast - a few weeks for the first draft. Some sit and stew for years - until they finally get done. The pilot I'm working on now - is taken from true WWII stories.
I do some of my best 'plotting' in my head while I'm walking by the ocean or on long drives or sometimes in the shower.
I wish I had a go-to method. It seems haphazard. And if I get a 'great idea' while I'm working on a different script - it's hard not to get distracted by the fresh one. The new idea is always more seductive than the death march of the second act of the one you're committed too. I'll at least take a moment to jot down some thoughts about the new idea.
As fickle as the Muse can be, the nuts and bolts of actually writing is anything but.
1 person likes this
My daughter had decided to become a serious musician and instruments are very expensive. I was looking out onto my car and knew I'd have to exchange it with a cheaper one. It felt so hard to give it up! So I decided to make it a film character. From that, a fantastic, magical story developed.
1 person likes this
One film script I wrote was inspired by a dream I had. The dream was I had married a beautiful woman who I discovered was a member of a family of cannibals, a family that had been eating humans for nearly a thousand years.