Inspiration Station: 5 Places to Get Inspiration For Your Writing
Inspiration can be difficult to find at times. We get bogged own in our daily lives or succumb to the myth of writer’s block. But these five places might help you open up and get writing again (or expand your creative juices if they’re already flowing): FriendsWho better to get ideas from than your friends? Whether for blogging or creative writing, friends are a great way to discover new stories, ideas, and much more. I get a lot of my blog ideas from one of my Interwebs buddies, Mulluane, who points me to all sorts of articles that I might otherwise never have found. Some have sparked stories, and others have inspired me to write rants. Public TransportationSome of the best characters I have ever written were a direct result of experiences I have had riding the bus to college. You’d be amazed the kinds of bizarre, fascinating characters that ride the bus. True, sometimes the people you meet on the bus, or the train, or wherever, are a bit odd, and sometimes downright disgusting, but I can’t think of a better way to develop unique characters than taking public transportation. If you have the opportunity to do so, ride a single bus route for a few weeks; you’d be surprised the kinds of people that ride the bus, and your writing will be better for it! The NewsWhether science or politics, the news is a huge inspiration machine when it comes to finding unique situations or coming up with ideas for science fiction stories. I doesn’t even matter if you watch or read a biased source, because in the end, news is news and any of it is fair game for creative writing. Read a newspaper or watch CNN and you might find yourself inspired to write something. Other WritersThis one is probably pretty obvious. Reading the work of other writers is not only great for learning how to effectively plagiarize without getting caught, but also for learning about your craft. Published writers have already made it, and you can take a lot from their metaphysical writing book to help you along the way. Natural talent is always important, but seeing others who have worked hard to get where they are can truly help you sharpen your craft and, if you’re in the right mindset, other writers can inspire you to keep at it so that one day you can make it too. The InternetWhether through StumbleUpon or Google, the Internet is a veritable goldmine of information that can spark ideas in your creative head. The Internet connects you with the news, other writers, friends, and everything else. Sharing ideas has become common practice as a result of the the net becoming the monster that it is today. Stir up Firefox and start surfing; you might find yourself inspired! And there you have it. What about you? What places do you go to to get inspiration for your writing? Let me know in the comments!
SF/F Links: May Won’t Leave Me Alone
What a better way to keep may interesting than to provide a whole bunch more links to nifty articles around the Interwebs? That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Here goes: Want to know how chocolate can save the world? Look no further than this Futurismic article. H. R. Williams talks about writing, the present, the future, and much more. It gets a bit religious-y at the end, but mostly Williams makes some great observations. SMC Philosophy Club talks about the consequences of time travel. Some old stuff here, but also some good observations and thoughts. Futurismic talks about a drug that can drastically improve your ability to recover “lost” memories. Most likely applicable to Alzheimer’s patients, but still wicked awesome! Ursela K. LeGuin gives anti-SF people what for. Damn good stuff, even if you don’t like her writing. David Kramer has an interesting idea for atheists: protest by putting the Bible into the science fiction section of your local bookstore. It’ll probably get you in trouble, but might be worth trying (and might be a funny joke for anyone who isn’t an atheist). China Mieville tells us about fifty SF/F titles that every socialist should read. Crazy list! Michio Kaku answers some interesting questions about time travel, robot takeovers and other physics-related things. Here’s an interesting video interview with Mahmood Mamdani on the politics of genocide. Might be worth a look if you’re interested in history and the present, and colonialism, of course. Book Giveaways: Booking Mama has a copy of The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams to give away. Literary Escapism has a whole lot of books up for grabs to honor Asian Heritage Month and Latino Book Month.