Inspiration

Where do we come up with ideas? Are there any stories out there that are truly unique? Do we rely on a muse or do we force an idea into fruition? These are questions that have haunted writers and artists for centuries. These are my thoughts on the subject-

When a story idea comes to me, it either blossoms into a piece of art, a book or it gets filed away in the vault of my mind. Most of my ideas for stories come to me fully formed and play like a movie in my mind. For Star Skimmer, even though it started with an oral telling, I always knew where the story was going and what the big picture or story arc was going to entail. I knew what the characters looked like, the types of worlds I wanted to portray and what my plot points were going to be. As you write the thing the story does evolve and there are definitely aspects that exist in the written version that didn't exist in the original telling, but the bones were still there. Part of writing is digging into and expanding the details of the idea. Areas that needed expansion for this story were in dialogue, and the how and why of things. How the Ecosystem interacts within it self. The why behind what makes fire on a planet green. the mechanics of space travel. for these things to appear realistic, you have to dig in a little deeper and do the research. You have to put your characters under a microscope and figure out what their true motivations would be.

This speaks more to process and is less about inspiration. My belief is that the stories that come to us or through us are all eclectic in nature. meaning that everything we've seen, or experienced or were told or felt- basically all the things a person can experience in a lifetime becomes the knowledge well that we pull from when we create. You may then ask, "If this is true, then how do stories evolve about fictional ideas-especially Sci-Fi and Fantasy?" Well, if you know your well deeply enough, you can then begin to ask the important questions like "What if?". Or my favorite question- "What have I not seen done before?". That's when the fun really begins.

In truth, from the casual reader to the trained scholar, you can easily determine where my inspiration comes from. You can see my love for Star Wars, Star Trek, E.T. Explorers, The Flight of the Navigator, The last Star Fighter and many other amazing influences that have wormed their way into my heart. Similarly, you could see how authors like Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Frank Herbert, Robert Asprin (to name a few) have influenced and inspired my writing style. To be honest, it doesn't take much to inspire me. It could be the smallest of things like a witnessed conversation overheard at a park and of course, big things like major motion pictures or a favorite book. The bigger question would be- "Do I always feel inspired when I write?" The answer to this one is a big fat NO. If I didn't force myself to write when I'm just not feeling it, I would never get anything done. For me, Inspiration is born and remains with the idea. The beautiful part of that is the idea doesn't fade or leave, but is always there and accessible. The only ideas that do fade are the ones that are not nurtured.