The Inspiration Chronicles

     If we're going to talk writing, of course we need to talk inspiration.  After all, its the meat that fleshes out are characters is it not?  This is why, as a writer, I never understand how some people have the hardest of times taking inspirations out of the air and throwing them down onto a sheet of paper. That's why I'm here to talk about this irritating, wonderful, and vital piece to the writing jigsaw puzzle that satisfies our pens and keyboards.  The inspiration that our eyes pick up, our minds nurture, and our fingertips spill out for the world to see.
      Stephen King once said something along the lines of "Writers never ask each other where our ideas come from.  We don't know." Fair enough.  There are chapters we go through in which the words seem to just write themselves.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it seem that the very best of ideas come when we're not looking for them?  It might be waking in the middle of the night, walking the dog, staring into an almost hypnotic type sunset.  These are wonderful times for the author to behold, but unfortunately, as with life, writing is not always that easy.
      So what is it that really causes the inspiration to tick and then take off? My personal experience has lead me to believe that this is tied with one's learning style.  What kind of a learner are you, do you know? Are you visual? Auditory? Kinesthetic? This just might be the key that helps you observe and interpret the world.
      I'm the kind of person that can't stand still.  Ever. I need to occupy my body someway, somehow.  If I'm sitting my leg automatically starts "thumping" as I like to call it.  If I'm standing I'm constantly shifting my weight from one foot to another.  And if something catches my attention, say a potential story starter, will my mind process it with me being idle?  Heck no.  I usually take a quick sprint, walk the dog, even go for a trail ride to help stimulate my creative juices. I find that this is what really helps to nourish those ideas once they're first conceived.
     That being said, I think its a good exercise to really sit back and evaluate what makes your mind work.  How did you study in college? What worked and what didn't?  If you're auditory, for example, find the music that really gets you in the thinking zone.  Visual learners could even benefit from just watching a soothing scene that allows their minds to wander, think of romantic sunsets or harsh furious storms. Its amazing what good just looking out a window might do for the visual learner.
      We know what it takes to help nourish that inspirations, but where do they start? We don't know.  None of us do.  But when they don't come to you, maybe its a sign you, dear author, need to work on your observation skills.  I don't ever pick up a book, flip on the TV, or even step outside without anticipating any potential story leads.  It takes training to develop this, but once you're mind gets racing, its racing.

Here are a few of my favorite "creativity milking" strategies. Let me know what you think!

1.      Never be satisfied with what you see.  Always go deeper.  Don't think this is just what's going on.  Think what could happen?  What if this reality is a deception? What if the worst possible thing happened?  This is excellent for those days when everything seems too ordinary.  Well, in that case, it is then your job to make it extraordinary. 
2. Ask yourself questions.  Lots and lots of questions, and give yourself even more answers.  If I see a young man in the store with a severe limp, my mind immediately thinks "What happened?  What's his story?" One thing that fascinates me is to think that everyone you pass by has their own story, knows stories, has witnessed incredible things, knows dark secrets.  Imagine what ideas you'd get if you could only hear them all! Well then, if you don't know, you must create them yourself.
3. Even if you know you'll hate it, give the writings and screenplays of other authors a shot.  Sometimes the best of ideas come from something really terrible. If you have ever picked up on a story line or franchise and said to yourself "I know I can do this crap a thousand times better" why don't you do it? Furthermore, revisit your favorite movies, classics, and novels.  Ask yourself what it was that you loved so much about them?  How could you love your characters and plots just as much?
4. Make your own life bearable by using the unbearable.  This is a formula I love! Sometimes the best of inspirations are right within your own life.  Think about it here.  In your own life you've been hurt, you've been scarred, you've witnessed a lot, you've had highs, and you've had deathly lows.  What was it about that high school flame that burned you so bad? If they were a villain what would their tactics be? Why did your best friend leave you?  Were they being controlled by some evil unseen mastermind?  
5. Be dangerous. Research. Seriously, in our age of the internet and countless apps, there is no excuse at all to not be a self-proclaimed expert in your own little niche.  One click leads to another and so forth.  Looking for a way to have that amazing hero suffer unimaginably? Look up medieval torture devices.  You'll be thoroughly amazed I promise.  Need another skeleton in the closet? Read up on your contemporary creepypasta.  Monster, local lore, and mayhem? Look no further than the cryptozoology department.  Its endless.  

There we have it.  A quick take off starting point to help get your next project on the right foot.  And we haven't even touched plot lines, character development, story arc, or antagonists yet.  Nonetheless, this is really the core that makes us who we are.  Its what really makes a writer.  One who is unafraid to see the world through their own eyes and pour their very heart and soul into the words, watch what takes roots, and hopefully blossoms.

My World of Writing

      For me, writing is so much more than an obsession.  Is it a part of who I am? Of course it is. It takes me to a world that breaks up the realities of life.  My characters are a reflection of my life.  They help me answer my problems and also serve as my test subjects.  My struggles become their stories.  In a way, building up their lives sometimes helps to fill in the dullness and loneliness of my own.

       But I think that there is one feature that is surpasses everything else that my stories and characters do for me.  I think of literature as being an author's voice to the rest of the world.  They are the key in which I can spread my message to the rest of the world.  This is one of the powers of literature that the world often overlooks.  Its really funny how "a drop of ink can cause a million to think."
     The way I go about doing this is probably different.  I'll be the first to say, my writing style is not the status quo. My work might not be everyone's cup of tea for sure.  I see that as a key strength in crafting that one story that we'll never forget.
      I'm a firm believer that even the most darkest of elements can create a story that has the most beautiful message.  After all, would Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird have meant so much if Tom Robinson had lived? What if the monster in Shelly's Frankenstein had never rebelled? This is how my mind works.  We need ugliness to see what is most beautiful in the world.  I tend to really favor stories with darker undertones for this reason exactly.

     For that reason, I'm always on the look out for these kinds of details in pretty much any form of literature. Being writers really gives us that sort of power to go deeper into a story than the average audience might.  So when I love a writer's style, I really love it.  I hope that I'll be able to bring some of these ideas to your attention when I do a few reviews.  There's so much to learn from another's ideas and story.  This goes beyond novels, I'm also talking movies, short stories, poetry, even music.
     Finally, I don't believe that writing is at all about following rules.  Everywhere you'll come across tips, suggestions, and so forth.  Those are all excellent, don't get me wrong.  But I think that the only way you, as an author, can really get out there and wow both yourself and your audience is to dig deeper and write your story in your words.  By sharing my own trials and errors as well as the words of a few of the "greats" I really hope that I'll be able to inspire other fellow writers in finding their voice and sharing it with the world.