Tenners Top Ten List
Top Ten Sources of Author Inspiration
By Amy Brecount White
Anyone who claims to be an author is always in search of inspiration - that tiny spark of imagination and ingenuity that makes your book unique and irresistible. But where do we writers find inspiration? I have done a totally unscientific survey gleaned from my own meandering attempts and the ramblings of my author buddies. So, without further ado … the top ten.
1) Chocolate. Nectar of the gods. How many of my Tenner buds have waxed poetic on the inspirational properties of this sweet? (namely Stephanie Burgis, Dawn Metcalf, and myself.)
As I always say, if it ain’t chocolate, why bother?
2) Bodies of water. Find the nearest river, lake, or waterfall, and park yourself within sight and hearing. Just be and your thoughts will flow.
As Melville says at the beginning of Moby Dick: “There is magic in [water]. Let the most absent-minded of men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water…. Yes, as every one knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever.” Ahhhh....
3) Ye Olde Cabin in the Woods. The ideal writer’s retreat which we all dream of, but few have on hand. Maybe a tree house will do.
4) Other Works of Literature. Whether it’s T.S. Eliot borrowing snippets from Dante, the Bible, and legends of the Fisher King or Jean Rhys’ masterful imagining of Charlotte Bronte’s mad wife in the attic in Wide Sargasso Sea (read it, if you haven't), writers have used the words of other writers as a springboard for their own creativity. Even Shakespeare borrowed many a plot, and Jane Austen’s masterpieces have provided ample fodder for other authors.
5) Coffee Shops. I myself can’t write there, but I know lots of writers (my critique partner C.J. Omololu springs to mind) who escape their office and find inspiration in a cuppa joe and the surrounding conversations. Or maybe a waffle house is more your speed. Eavesdropping is an essential writerly skill. Master it.
6) Writers’ Conferences/Talks. I was inspired by Toni Morrison’s advice to wannabees: “Write the novel that only you can write.” Other writers can be great cheerleaders, but they can also offer much needed advice and enthusiasm. I’m a regular at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference which never fails to pump me up.
7) Anger. Authors Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones were upset enough about recent national bullying incidents to create an anti-bullying YA group that’s putting together an anthology to raise money for the cause. What pisses you off? How can you channel that anger into your WIP?
(I did some of that in my latest novel, String Theories.)
8) World Mythologies. Where would the paranormal phenomenon be without the mythologies of vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and other fantastic creatures? While you want to be original, you also want to master the mythology of anything you’re writing about. I had to do it with the language of flowers for Forget-Her-Nots. And think of how masterfully Rick Riordan has used Greek and Egyptian mythologies to become a bestseller.
9) Pain. Yup. Whether it’s wrenching, personal romantic angst or just an irritating person at a cocktail party, channel your pain into material for your next book. I remember hearing one writer confess that when she stopped at the scene of an accident to help out, she couldn’t help chronicling the details in her mind - the sheen of the blood, the slackness of a jaw, the web of broken glass - for her own future use. Writers are a type of parasite. We need the vicissitudes of real life to remind us of how detailed and vivid life really is, so we can recreate it fictionally.
10) Life Motifs. As I recently said at the awesome inaugural BringYA2PA conference, pay attention to your own life. What seems to be recurring? What song/poem/image keeps coming up? Maybe the universe is sending you a message, like: “Hello!! This should be in your next novel!!!” (Sometimes the universe needs lots of quotation marks.)
Happy Writing!
By Amy Brecount White
Anyone who claims to be an author is always in search of inspiration - that tiny spark of imagination and ingenuity that makes your book unique and irresistible. But where do we writers find inspiration? I have done a totally unscientific survey gleaned from my own meandering attempts and the ramblings of my author buddies. So, without further ado … the top ten.
1) Chocolate. Nectar of the gods. How many of my Tenner buds have waxed poetic on the inspirational properties of this sweet? (namely Stephanie Burgis, Dawn Metcalf, and myself.)
As I always say, if it ain’t chocolate, why bother?
2) Bodies of water. Find the nearest river, lake, or waterfall, and park yourself within sight and hearing. Just be and your thoughts will flow.
As Melville says at the beginning of Moby Dick: “There is magic in [water]. Let the most absent-minded of men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water…. Yes, as every one knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever.” Ahhhh....
3) Ye Olde Cabin in the Woods. The ideal writer’s retreat which we all dream of, but few have on hand. Maybe a tree house will do.
4) Other Works of Literature. Whether it’s T.S. Eliot borrowing snippets from Dante, the Bible, and legends of the Fisher King or Jean Rhys’ masterful imagining of Charlotte Bronte’s mad wife in the attic in Wide Sargasso Sea (read it, if you haven't), writers have used the words of other writers as a springboard for their own creativity. Even Shakespeare borrowed many a plot, and Jane Austen’s masterpieces have provided ample fodder for other authors.
5) Coffee Shops. I myself can’t write there, but I know lots of writers (my critique partner C.J. Omololu springs to mind) who escape their office and find inspiration in a cuppa joe and the surrounding conversations. Or maybe a waffle house is more your speed. Eavesdropping is an essential writerly skill. Master it.
6) Writers’ Conferences/Talks. I was inspired by Toni Morrison’s advice to wannabees: “Write the novel that only you can write.” Other writers can be great cheerleaders, but they can also offer much needed advice and enthusiasm. I’m a regular at the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI conference which never fails to pump me up.
7) Anger. Authors Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones were upset enough about recent national bullying incidents to create an anti-bullying YA group that’s putting together an anthology to raise money for the cause. What pisses you off? How can you channel that anger into your WIP?
(I did some of that in my latest novel, String Theories.)
8) World Mythologies. Where would the paranormal phenomenon be without the mythologies of vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and other fantastic creatures? While you want to be original, you also want to master the mythology of anything you’re writing about. I had to do it with the language of flowers for Forget-Her-Nots. And think of how masterfully Rick Riordan has used Greek and Egyptian mythologies to become a bestseller.
9) Pain. Yup. Whether it’s wrenching, personal romantic angst or just an irritating person at a cocktail party, channel your pain into material for your next book. I remember hearing one writer confess that when she stopped at the scene of an accident to help out, she couldn’t help chronicling the details in her mind - the sheen of the blood, the slackness of a jaw, the web of broken glass - for her own future use. Writers are a type of parasite. We need the vicissitudes of real life to remind us of how detailed and vivid life really is, so we can recreate it fictionally.
10) Life Motifs. As I recently said at the awesome inaugural BringYA2PA conference, pay attention to your own life. What seems to be recurring? What song/poem/image keeps coming up? Maybe the universe is sending you a message, like: “Hello!! This should be in your next novel!!!” (Sometimes the universe needs lots of quotation marks.)
Happy Writing!