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Are You
a Writer Looking for Inspiration?
No Subject Is
Taboo
"Musings" for February 2006
by Margot Finke
What happens when you long to write, but can't settle on a subject, a plot, or a good idea? It might pay to reflect on a period from your past, the immediate present, or imagine the future. Writing inspiration can pop up in unexpected places: in the giggling antics of a three year old, the death of a loved grandparent, or the weird antics of your dingbat neighbors. It can also lurk in a remembrance of past hurts, or a happy memory from younger days. Past, present, and future: read on to discover that all three hold books waiting to be written
Inspiration from the Past:
Bring Back Those
Happier Days
Do you have clear memories of events in times past, involving you, your family, friends or strangers? Look on these memories as your private goldmine. The bully at school, the candy store on the corner, the neat old uncle with whiskers all over his face, who told the most exciting stories – these memories are nuggets of gold, waiting for you to dig them out and transform them into fabulous stories. Change their names. Maybe make that uncle into an Auntie with red hair. Who's to know where they came from? All that matters to an editor, is that your book features a wonderful Auntie character who tells exciting stories.
Inspiration from the Past:
Angst and Sadness Drive Great Plots
Are your memories of the past less than happy? Bringing that grim time into clear focus, as a moving story, can be cathartic: and help others cope. If you're worried about being sued, it doesn't have to be autobiographical. Take liberties. Change times, dates, and names. Use the well of pain and insecurity that still lives inside you. Paint memorable word pictures. Putting the essence of that grim time into your story can work wonders on an editor, as well as heal your bruised psyche.
History as Inspiration
If you love doing research, and reading nonfiction books, the past is your home. Choose a figure from history, large or minor, and get going. Accurate research is the name of this game. You can make reading about famous people, or events from history, fascinating. Kids learn when a writer makes history come alive.
Present Tense Inspires
The present is an open book: happy, sad, decisive, or full of indecision. First, look close to home. If your family and friends are dull as dirt, look further a-field for that inspirational spark. A few promising subjects are:
- Local school kids – volunteer as a teacher's aid for a while. If mid grade and high school hi-jinks don't inspire, you need a NEW inspiration meter, not a recharge.
- In-laws and relatives are first-rate fiction fodder. Friends and neighbors are also on your scavenging menu - well disguised, of course. Think Frankenstein. Take the fun, frantic and wacky traits these people exhibit, and graft them onto your characters.. Steal the essence of that boozy bro-in-law, the cackling laugh of the second wife, and the temper tantrums of that obnoxious niece. Roll these larger-than-life personas into a family gathering from hell, a trip to the doctor, or a visit to grandma's house. Doing this gives you a unique story; ready to capture any editor.
- It is also fine to hijack characteristics from those you know. Don't forget the slobs you work with: their troubled lives can be a prime source of inspiration. Use their various quirks to enrich your more serious works of fiction. You will be quite safe if you change the sexes, names, situations and descriptions. Aim for anything out of the ordinary that you can easily use to enrich your characters.
Inspiration and the Keen Observer
If you are a keen observer of life, walking down the street, studying shoppers in a department store, or watching CNN's parade of world disasters is a sure inspiration trigger. Reading a newspaper can also work. Look to your own pets and those of others. Kids love animal stories – be they sentimental and loving or wild and wacky.
An Inspirational Future Beckons
Do you love technology and outer space? Do you yearn to be around when they find a cure for cancer, and life on another planet? Maybe inspiration will perk up if you delve into fantasy scenarios, or colonies on Mars. Look at the dullest kid you know: a real ordinary Joe. Now, give him a secret fantasy life that would make his mother go gray overnight. If you are good at thinking out-of-the-box, you'll be a shoe-in at fantasy. If outer space and talking robots isn't your thing, think about something wild and improbable that you wanted to happen when you were a kid. Then, write a terrific fantasy story about it actually happening. Fantasy puts your wildest imaginings on paper. Go for it!
I hope I have presented ideas that inspire some terrific children's books? If not, don't crouch over your keyboard staring at a blank screen. Inspiration comes with being involved. Go out-and-about. Interact with your friends, relatives and neighbors.
If inspiration does not knock on your door, march out and drag it home with you.
HAPPY WRITING MATES!
Margot Finke's biography and index to Musings.
