1) Because my muse has a
wicked sense of humor and visits me at odd times and in inconvenient places, I have
learned to record inspirations/ideas
immediately before I forget them or they dissolve into nothing.
I carry small notebooks, own a digital recorder,
and have been known to text messages home. I will scribble on anything – old
napkins I find in my glove compartment or old receipts. I even pop out of bed in
the middle of the night to jot things on sticky pads.
2) Calendars are great places to find topics. I use important dates,
seasons, and upcoming holidays to plan blog posts. I can also go back into my
work calendar to refresh my memory about meetings, conferences, or books I have
read that might be worth sharing with others.
3) I will sit with a good cup
of coffee, pen and paper ready, and read the
newspaper searching for topics, interesting characters, or modern
trends. News channels and other
newsfeeds are just as good.
4) I love to read the TV and movie guides for titles and
descriptions. Not only are they great
for a laugh, but they make great writing prompts.
5) I try to use my time driving around the city studying other
drivers, billboards, road signs, and the flora and fauna. I am always alert
looking for anything that might activate my muse.
6) I love to study people and have been known to
follow strangers around Target just because of the way they are dressed,
something they said, or because they look just like that new character I have
been having trouble fleshing out in my latest work in progress. I call it character study, but HoneyBunch
says it’s called stalking and it’s illegal in Texas.
7) I am addicted to crossword puzzles and have learned a
lot of useful (and useless) information and vocabulary. Some of it works its
way into my writing. (I wonder if Neve Campbell knows she is more well known in
the crossword-puzzle world than she is in Hollywood?)
8) I read an immense amount both for recreation and to keep up with the
craft of writing, and I make it a practice to use some of the wordsmithery and
punctuation prowess in my own writing.
9) I listen to music, not only when I am working on mood and need help
creating tone, but also to elicit a memory or a feeling.
10) And last but not least, I love to journal and have done so for the
majority of my life. Besides all the
emotional baloney I dump in there (and hope to burn before I die and my kids
read it), it sometimes helps me come up with some pretty good topics.
Isn't that the funny thing about journals...it's scary to write all that "baggage" down but we need to in order to move forward.
ReplyDeleteI love your "muse" ideas. I get ideas also from traveling and seeing historical sites...sometimes also from art in a museum or really really good photography. ;-)
Great post!
I agree, Elizabeth. There are other places to get inspired. The main thing to remember is to keep alert and watchful, observing everything and filing it away for future reference. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteI assign a special notebook to every novel (or series) that I write. I record character names and places, etc., because if I'm ever away from it when I'm writing, I can never remember those details! When I'm just coming up with big-picture concepts and story lines, I'll get on the floor with a poster board and markers!
ReplyDeleteYou need to show us one of your posters and notebooks. I would love to see your process though what I picture of it, it seems amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove this post. I will keep an eye out for it.
ReplyDelete