Monday, March 05, 2007

What Inspires You?

Seems like every little thing brings forth new story ideas in me lately. A random snippet of a song, a bit of overhead conversation (I am a major eavesdropper, you just never know where a golden line might come from), an evocative picture in a magazine.


Odd thing is, I wasn't exactly short on ideas as it was. I have at least three books ready to write at any given time. Currently, that number is hovering closer to eight. I'm sure this is just another symptom of OBS.
As an aside, my best ideas usually come to me in the shower or right before I drift to sleep. I write some of the best lines then! Just wish I could remember them the next day.

So where do your ideas come from? Where did the idea for your last written book come from?

10 comments:

  1. Pleased to see you like the Elizabeth Gittens ceramics Kristen. Looks like I should thinking about setting up a small business here !

    I'll be posting some more Welsh ceramics in a week or so. Please feel free to call by and take a look.

    Best Wishes,

    M.

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  2. Anonymous9:17 AM

    The ideas can pop into my head when I'm walking the dog, doing the dishes, etc. The last idea started with a character and grew from there :)

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  3. What is it with the shower and dozing? Most of my AHA!'s come in the shower.

    Glamour magazine is a good one. "The Most Embarassing Thing" columns crack me up.

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  4. Everywhere and anywhere, that's where the ideas come from. My most recent WIP came from about 4 different places. I was watching CSI Miami and thought about boats. I remembered when my sister lived on a boat for a year in the bahamas and how easy it was for them to enter the port. Then I thought about sex slavery rings and then about underage teenagers staying out late. They all jumbled together to come up with my next WIP. I've started working on it but had to stall to finish my edits on Coiled Revenge. I'll pick it back up in a few days after I get another short send off to a publisher.

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  5. Most of my ideas come from thinking about things I like: refried beans, a friend's breasts, you...

    I always keep a pad of paper and a pen by the bed for the very reason you cite. I should buy an underwater slate thing for the shower, I get great ideas there also. It's funny, Kristen, I'm with you on the OBS thing: I have notes for probably 300 columns. I love it. Sometimes the notes permute and aggregate and make strange new things.

    Interesting post, thanks.

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  6. OMG, that's just too weird. About ten minutes ago I posted this on Divas, "And yes, my best ideas sprout when I'm in the shower, or about to fall asleep. I'm a very clean, well rested Diva!"

    Forunately, I have a freakish memory, so I can remember stuff in the morning.

    My CP also has ideas when she's in the shower. Water is obviously a powerfully creative source!

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  7. Like I said, most of my ideas come from things I like. See today's post if you care to go there.

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  8. I don't think things are bringing forth ideas. But there's something about taking a shower that suddenly I've got all these dialogues and ideas running amok in my head. It's scary sometimes. *lol*

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  9. Wal-Mart does it for me. I got the lightbulb for Seniorella in their parking lot. I also found out I was pregnant in one of their restrooms. Yeah, there's just something about Wal-Mart...

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  10. I got the idea for my current wip from RT :) It was the sight of all those people running around in costumes that did it for me.

    BTW, I've also had my share of aha moments in the shower and while dozing in bed at night. I think it's just because there's less distraction. You can just relax and let the ideas flow.

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