A muse. It's someone that dances in my head until I give them a character to play, a life to live. Without them, I don't have a strong character.
An idea. This is the tricky one. More often then not, I have stories started without an idea. Let the lives play out.
An emotion. Sometimes, it's the swell of love in your heart. Sometimes it's a deep dark root of lust in your groin. Maybe the butterflies are in your stomach or that sugar rush in your veins. Whatever it is, you have to have something that inspires you to grab a muse, an idea and go with gusto to write.
Stupid but true, I have to have my book. A character has to have a name. And I have baby books that are worn thin. I've gone over and over and OVER my baby name books. Some times have stuck with me throughout years before they get characters. Sometimes, I've looked over a name so often that suddenly a character snaps my attention to it. "That's my name!" Favorite letters, favorite sounds, unique characteristics, definitions, gender-bending, creative, curious...there's something that pulls me to that name. I can't write without my baby name books.
Stock photos, artistic photography, music, an image on TV, they all pull at a creative part of my mind that make me turn. Just a two-second kiss in a movie without any sort of romantic theme can inspire novels of ideas. Makes you claw your way through the raw emotions, digging for something pearl, tiny and seemingly insignificant but it could create mountains. A flicker of a smile, a break of character...it spawns something deep.
This is how stories are brought to life. Or how they could start to form. Not all of them materialize for very long or even some do not master artwork. But they do create a spark.
I write what I want to read. I discover, develop and expand upon emotions that I feel and want to explore. The book's not written--not with the emotion and relationships that I want to witness. So I write it.
And I write for those who don't get a voice. Those little characters who play the off-beat sidekick or the best friend. They deserve their life too. While everyone's watching the stars, I focus every ounce of energy on breathing life into those who are cast aside. The author for the overlooked.
- Location:Office of Creative Possibilities
- Mood:
optimistic - Music:*lawn mower outside*
