What are your inspirations when writing?

[Aceinthehole]

So recently I set up a second monitor attached to my laptop. It was something I did for school so I could read  research journals and write the related paper without switching back and forth. 

 

However last week I realized that I could use it to watch music videos as I write. Getting to see various artistic approaches and interpretations of music while writing has really helped to spark different ideas. I also realized I listen to a large variety of genres when writing different characters. Sometimes they're even genres I would normally never listen to. 

 

It has me wondering, what do you use for inspiration before/during/after you write?

[Mikiesboy]

I get very early to write before work, but i do on weekends also. i like silence usually, it lets me get inside my own head and feelings. Rarely i'll put on some instrumental music, as vocals and pictures distract me too much. As well, i dont open hangouts. This time is for me, my work, and so my only company is a cup of coffee.

Inspiration can be people i see, a toy in a tree recently, weather, nature, nearly anything tbh.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Mikiesboy

[Ashi]

I get inspired when I am doing nothing.  Like morning commute or wait for something.  Usually I'd spot something that would inspire a chain of thoughts.

[FormerMember4]

It depends on the writing. If it’s work, school, poem and most other things, I like silence. I do better first thing in morning. Before the crazy starts.

If it’s my journal, music is playing. Music has always been a good way to pull my feelings.

[MacGreg]

When I write, I have music on almost 99% of the time. Music has been a constant companion in my life, and I rely on it to drown out the peripheral white noise in my head. Without music, I would have a difficult time focusing on creative projects. When I'm meditating, or communing with nature, or tending to someone's needs, music is unnecessary. But when I'm writing - music on, almost always.

 

I definitely think that different genres of music help my creative process, depending on the subject matter. I can be all over the board with what I listen to, it just has to be meaningful to me. Visual stimulation, on the other hand, (such as video or TV) is not something I work well with. That will shatter my concentration completely.

 

Like @Mikiesboyand @Ashi, I find inspiration in everyday observations. Sometimes, even the most mundane scenery or occurrence sparks something in my mind. So I'm always looking at my surroundings, analyzing people, taking it all in and filing it away in a pipeline to be retrieved (or not) later.

[Mikiesboy]

4 minutes ago, MacGreg said:

I find inspiration in everyday observations. Sometimes, even the most mundane scenery or occurrence sparks something in my mind. So I'm always looking at my surroundings, analyzing people, taking it all in and filing it away in a pipeline to be retrieved (or not) later.

yes... people themselves are such inspiration. i'd started plotting a story idea after seeing a boy with his dad and brother at Red Lobster. We were out for dinner and the boy whose name was Aidan, looked like he may have cerebral palsy. And i'd been thinking about the young boy in my story, and that young man, was him. It was perfect..

[mollyhousemouse]

i don't write fiction, and poetry can be a struggle, but i do blog. 

my inspiration comes from life, my kids, my Husband, the news.  

i write best when there is some kind of "noise" whether it's a movie i've seen a million times so that it's just background noise, or music.  my Spotify is wildly eclectic!

i do find that what i am writing sometimes influences what i listen too, if there's a lot of hard emotion, then something with a heavy beat is called for.  in fact, i've found myself hitting the keys in time with the music, LOL!

 

 

[Aceinthehole]

On 5/25/2018 at 11:50 PM, Mikiesboy said:

I get very early to write before work, but i do on weekends also. i like silence usually, it lets me get inside my own head and feelings. Rarely i'll put on some instrumental music, as vocals and pictures distract me too much. As well, i dont open hangouts. This time is for me, my work, and so my only company is a cup of coffee.

Inspiration can be people i see, a toy in a tree recently, weather, nature, nearly anything tbh.

Interesting, it's really cool to hear about a different approach.  I can definitely relate to writing being about 'me time' though. It's a very good chance to relax and work out things that are on clogging up the mind. 

 

On 5/26/2018 at 12:37 AM, Ashi said:

I get inspired when I am doing nothing.  Like morning commute or wait for something.  Usually I'd spot something that would inspire a chain of thoughts.

 

I can definitely relate to this. Sometimes just relaxing and people watching can really spark creative thoughts. 

 

23 hours ago, BlindAmbition said:

It depends on the writing. If it’s work, school, poem and most other things, I like silence. I do better first thing in morning. Before the crazy starts.

If it’s my journal, music is playing. Music has always been a good way to pull my feelings.

That's exactly how I feel about music. It pulls things to the surface and helps me to reflect them in my own writing. Kind of makes me wonder what the artists I listen to used as their own inspiration. 

11 hours ago, MacGreg said:

 

I definitely think that different genres of music help my creative process, depending on the subject matter. I can be all over the board with what I listen to, it just has to be meaningful to me. Visual stimulation, on the other hand, (such as video or TV) is not something I work well with. That will shatter my concentration completely.

 

I totally know what you mean by something meaningful. There are so many times where I shuffle artists, and something I can't relate to comes on and breaks my concentration. I find my best writing is when I'm really into the music I'm listening to. 

11 hours ago, mollyhousemouse said:

 

i do find that what i am writing sometimes influences what i listen too, if there's a lot of hard emotion, then something with a heavy beat is called for.  in fact, i've found myself hitting the keys in time with the music, LOL!

 

 

I love the last part! Music really helps, but sometimes if I like it too much I can get side tracked and start signing along with it. Which can't be pleasant for anyone near me! 

[Brayon]

On 5/25/2018 at 11:32 PM, Aceinthehole said:

It has me wondering, what do you use for inspiration before/during/after you write?

Before I start to write, inspiration can come from anywhere. From news, to T.V. shows, to music, to pictures, to talks with people, to stories written by other people, and a healthy dose of role-playing games, are some of the things I find inspiration in. From there, once I start writing, I sit and do a vague outline. Just a bullet point summary of what I want to do in a scene. I use the idea I got, and just kneed it until I get a nice dough ball. Once that's done, I let it rest until I'm ready to write. Then it's a matter of linking scenes together in a chapter and then chapters together in an overall arc.

 

During, because I write in serial format, two things influence my writing. How I am feeling at the time, and my medical conditions. I have to be mindful because sometimes, I'm unable to write if my hands are shaking too bad. Other times, It's hard to write a sex scene when I just had a fight with a roomie, and all I want to do is punch someone in the nose. I will play music targetting the scene, hoping that helps put me in the right frame of mind. Nothing with words. Too distracting. Also, Reader Comments and Interaction. If no one is reading my story, then I prioritize it less, than one that has a more active following. (Hint Readers... Want more chapters? Well, comment on the story and there's a discussion thread!)

 

Afterward, the cycle repeats.

[TetRefine]

While I don't post anything much on here, I really like to write short stories that capture the intensity of the moment over a short period of time. I take all my events in the story from real life things that have happened, and pick ones that could mash together. I wrote a blog "story" about a year ago on here that took place over the course of just a few hours. All the things that happened in the story are things that actually happened to me in real life, just not all in one night like how it is presented in the story. In fact, some of those events happened years apart, but they all meshed together really well for a short story. What really helped me get in the proper mood for reliving those moments in words was music. I can vividly remember some of the music that was playing at the time the events happened, and listening to those specific songs brought them back to life for me.