Thursday, July 12, 2012

Inspiration...

Everyone's muse has different 'triggers.'  And because I love shiny objects my muse also has a wide range of creative toys – and I mean 'toys.'
I've known writers who light a candle when they sit down to write.  The fragrance instantly sparks the inner voices and their fingers fly across the keyboard.  I'm too visual for this to work for my muse. The same with music, currently, Katy Perry's Wide Awake is the 'theme' song for my WIP but listening to it doesn't start the voice to whispering and the muse to dancing.
Some of the 'toys' that have acted as inspiration:
He's the keeper of the forest secrets...
Journals ~ I use them to keep story notes. Yes even before my 'pre-planning' days, I'd write story notes as I went.  I'd divide it into three sections.
(a)    Character Notes – eye color, favorite food, etc.
(b)   Future Scenes – If a scene I was writing triggered a future one, I'd write it here
(c)    Research Notes
For it to act as inspiration, the journal had to be something that represented the story.  Like this guy…. I'm using him for my adult retelling of Goldie and The Three Bears

I almost always make a poster board of images that correspond with my current WIP.  The board isn't done until the story is.  When I'm in the beginning stage – just nursing the plot bunny – I start with pictures of what my characters look like and things that would represent the setting. Then as the story develops, I add things I find at the dollar store, thirty shops, etc.

What are some of the things that spur your muse into action?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, I love journals, too! I have a pile of them. Lots of pretty leather covers. I write the most unusual things in them, heh!

My muse doesn't really have a firm trigger. For me, it's either a good writing day or it's not. But music often helps when I need to push through a rough day. :-)

Lyric James said...

I have journals too. Anytime I get an idea for a new story, I write the idea and/or the title down. I hadn't thought about writing scenes down in mine. That's a good idea. My muse doesn't have a firm trigger either. Ideas just pop into my mind.