I hear phrases like “write what you know” or “write what you want to read”…what happens when you feel like you don’t know much about what you want to write?
One example, I love to read short stories but a book has got to start off with a huge BANG or I’m not interested. I’ve gone through so many books and short stories that when I write what I want-well, I’ve been told that it seems a bit too speedy. (slow it down…describe what’s going on…give me some scenery….) That could be me trying to get all the ideas out of my head as fast as I can because if I don’t, some other random thing or random assignment for my kid will pop in. (Like I just remembered I forgot to send a copy of my driver’s license to her school to get her reregistered for fall. #parentingfail)
Now, I’m a person that likes to cross genres and boundaries. Maybe I’ll read a little cyberpunk here, a little exorcism there and try to make it work for me in a short story.
But I’m gonna tell you, the best ideas come from my dreams (and other dream like states). When I wake up, it’s like a mad house trying to find paper or something to write what happened down OR figuring out how to record my dreams on my iPhone at 3:30 in the morning, in the dark. Those are the funnier ones.
One story I wrote-from a dream-was sooooo good and scary that it made people very uncomfortable. (Note-I’m not here giving you a trigger warning. If you don’t understand horror, then that’s on you. If I pick up a book labeled horror, I will be ready to be scared. Like if I pick up a George RR Martin book, I’m expecting maps, very small font and lots of history. Get used to it.) I liked the short story because it took place in one of two worlds I write in-the near future or further out into the dystopian future mixed with cyberpunk.
Okay, so now you’ve read my ramblings. Let’s get down to the grits and gravy. If you are running short on an idea or something-I like to read a story and think, “How would I retell this story?” Like if the story was mine. That’s always a start, then you can add other extraneous stuff in there to take it off the original path.
Another thing is using (the never use in college or academic research) wikipedia. That’s right. If you dig deep enough, you will get trapped in a k-hole of absolute terror. I was watching a movie about Sada Abe and ran across the word “ero guro“. Let me check wiki…oh dear god. What the fu– hold on…let me click that other link in this definition and get lost. Trust me, sometimes you get stuck down there and you need a cartoon or something to snatch you out.
Okay folks, so that’s my thing for now. I did listen to a podcast (Write Minded) where Veronica Roth said something to the effect of not feeling like you have to stay within the boundaries of your genre. Explore, look around! I mean, when I was 7, I was impressed that we had a digital clock where the numbers flipped. Then we got the Zenith tv and let me tell you, not having to hold the channel with a book of matches was giving me new life!
Another place I like to look is Pinterest. Yup. Pinterest. The gift of inspiration. If you are trying to think of a way to write a psychological horror story about a sexy ghost-type it into the Pinterest search bar. I guarantee you will pop back with an idea. OR you could like for prompts. I have found some interesting prompts. Even setting up a page with sub pages (I’m telling you, Pinterest is the ish. And I was an Evernote junkie!)
Another thing is podcasts. There are so many podcasts out there about cults, murders and horror. There’s a really good Mythology podcast on the Parcast Network (I listen to them the most). They have a crew of actors that act out parts of it, which is cool. I am thankful, however, that the cult podcasts do NOT have actors. (Once I listened to a podcast where the hosts were discussing a murder and making fun of it and laughing about it. I hate that.) Anyway, you can find out some really great crime details or even investigation details-which is better than CSI and incorporate them into your work.
If you aren’t feeling inspired-check out Digital Underground and Doowhatchulike
Or you can “Do What You Feel” like the Simpsons
Either way, I hope this inspired someone a little because I hot linked the shit out of this and it’s only 2 in the morning.
tracy a. cross 