Have you ever had something that you just loved? Did you jump into the Harry Potter bandwagon? You knew all the spells, watched the interviews, and knew what they bought with their money? What about Lord of the Rings? How about Star Trek or Star Wars?
Recently, I have become a fangirl over the new Avatar series Legend of Korra and been reintroduced to my love for Harry Potter. And I find that when I have something that I really enjoy, really get excited about, I feel more inspired. After watching the episodes or the movies, I get an itching to write. I want to be able to create a world, story, and characters like I am watching. It is amazing how being a super fan (aka a proud dork) over something can light up some amazing fire and inspiration.
It makes me remember that I started writing when I was moved by the anime I was watching. Just wanted to make stories and worlds like that. Though in all honesty, I wanted to join in on those worlds. It brought me into fanfiction and got me to writing.
These are inspiring folk who do something outside of novel-writing (like Avatar) and/or reached past the art of writing and brought characters to the silver screen (like Rowling). Just watching what they are able to do gives me hope and drive to try and reach for that level as well.
Is there something that you have been a fan of that really inspired you to pick up the pen or go to your computer and start writing?
Quick shout-out to my friend Randi Lee! Once again, she gave me a wonderful shout-out and I can't thank her enough for it. I feel like she gives me far too much credit. Thank you Randi for your kind words!
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Weekly Workshop
A Place No Longer There
You need to write about a place that is no longer in existence. Did it get wiped out from a flood? A volcano? Zombies? It doesn't matter how it was destroyed, only that you need to write about it without saying straight-forward how it met its end. You need to tell a story about the place itself while alluding to its demise. It can be a real place from your memory, like a school that was torn down, or it could be fake, like a city that was eaten by a swarm of bugs.
I started writing again due to an urge to write fanfic for Phantasy Star (an old Sega RPG series). Fanfic eventually led to more original ideas, and my second book is coming out in August (so you can imagine how I feel about the authors that denounce fanfic...).
ReplyDeleteI'm actually writing some fanfic again these days, but this time, I've fallen into the immersive world of Dragon Age. The characters are fantastic, and it inspires me to create something just as compelling!
So sorry for how long it took to respond! It felt like I kept dreaming I responded to the comments so I kept believing that I did. Very weird.
DeleteAnyway! Oh that is really wonderful! Actually, a lot like me. I have been doing fanfics for years and years. It has been the perfect start and inspiration to really get on the road to writing novels. I can see how denouncing fanfics could be rather upsetting. It also seems a bit wrong, it is still writing after all! and it does great stuff.
That is great you are being brought back into the fanfic world!
I revel in fandom. I can't tell you how many different franchises out there I've been reeled into, from TV to movies to comic books. I'm a sucker for fantastic stories and compelling characters, especially in spec fic of some kind.
ReplyDeleteBeing such a nerd has definitely come with many inspiring moments, but I'd say it also brings a bit of its own pressure for originality as well. The more familiar you are with what's out there, the more you realize everything has been done before!
I am so sorry how long it took to reply to you! I kept thinking I did. I apologize for that.
DeleteFandom seems to do so much for inspiration. But you are very right about the pressure. It is a worry; is this my idea? or did I get this idea from something I have read/watched before? Of if you have an idea and you find out it's been done before, working on making your own and as original as capable (which isn't a bad thing to experience).
But you are right, everything has been done!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment! It's great to learn about other nerds who enjoy fandom inspirations!