Where do you get your story ideas from?

Some writers are lucky, they get their story ideas in dreams, when their sub-conscious mind is hard at work. The next morning the idea remains in their mind and they start developing it. Stephenie Meyers got the idea for twilight in a dream. One of my crit partners Kim Koning too gets quite a few ideas in her dreams. For J.K.Rowling, the idea for the Potter series fell into her head fully formed during a train journey.

Jorge Amado, the famous South American writer regarded himself as a ‘professional dreamer.’ He often said that the greater part of his work was conceived in dreams and he wrote down the images and visions he remembered on waking up. These images were incorporated in his books. “All I am,” Amado said, “is a hard working recorder of dreams. If I didn’t have dreams, I wouldn’t know what to write about.”

One of the most famous writers to draw inspiration from his dreams was Gustave Flaubert. He normally slept five hours a night, but he said, “the sixth hour of my sleep is given over to dreaming.” He would reach for his notebook on waking up and record his dreams, referring to his notes when he wrote his novels and stories.

Though I see a lot of dreams, so far I have never been inspired by a dream. My dreams are just that; dreams. No writing happens due to the dreams. My story ideas come to me from random sources. Sometimes, it’s a title that has been playing around in my mind. The title then inspires a story. At other times it could be a picture I have seen somewhere. Yes, pictures in magazines, newspapers and even blogs inspire me by planting story ideas in my mind.

More often than not, a character jumps into my mind and he or she urges me to write their story. A couple of my books have come out of short stories.

Where do you all get inspiration for your stories? Who or what inspires you? Do dreams spark the seed for an idea? We all would love to know all about it.

Do you choose the story, or, does the story choose you?

“Does a story choose a writer, or, does a writer choose the story?” I was asked this strange question by my friend. For a moment I was at a loss. Her question triggered a series of thoughts,  each more puzzling than the next.

This question is akin to asking what came first; the chicken or the egg? Do we choose our stories, or, do the stories choose us? I think it’s a bit of both. The initial overture is made by the story; it comes knocking on our door, eager for us to tell the world about it. The second overture is made by us; we mull over the story,  decide whether its worthy of our time and effort, ponder over the fact  that will we be able to do justice to it or not, deliberate on the theme, its suitability, worry about the characters  and then invite it into our heart, mind and soul.

From then onwards  with a single minded goal we obsess over what has become from a story surfing the channels of our mind into a WIP.

According to J.K.Rowling, the idea for her super successful series Harry Potter appeared full fledged to her while she was on a train journey after a weekend’s flat- hunting. In the crowded train  the idea for Harry Potter simply fell into her head.  

Stephanie Meyer saw a vivid dream. In her dream  two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. The girl was  just an  average looker.  While the boy  was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. Both discussed the  difficulties  of  falling in  love with each other. The vampire  was particularly attracted to the scent of  the girl’s blood and was having  a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately. Thus started the journey of the Twilight Sagas.  In the case of Rowling and Meyer the story chose them.

For Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson was a result of the bedtime stories he would tell his son Haley. Running out of myths  he appeased his disappointed son by  creating a new story with the Greek Gods. And Percy Jackson was born.

For us who toil long and hard it’s a case of the writer choosing the story. I have not been  that lucky to have any full fledged character appear at my mind’s door. I spend all my time conjuring up images of my characters and books.

What about you all, do you choose the story or does the story choose you? I am eager to know how the  selection process works for you all? More often than not I choose the story, not the other way round.

Muse: The Shameless Interloper

Is there no limit to the boundaries a muse will cross in a writer’s life, no restriction on the indecencies it will inflict, especially on female writers. Doesn’t the muse have an inherent sense of decency? Why does it have to be the shameless interloper; peeping, eavesdropping and stalking at the most inopportune times?

The most revered creature loves to play hide and seek. Now you see me, now you don’t. It hides when a writer is staring in frustration at blank sheets, and chases when one is busy elsewhere. One can even compare the ever evading muse to a mistress; demanding, moody, sometimes prone to sulks, and at other times generous to a fault.

My muse is pretty troublesome, it has this amazing ability to pop up at the most unexpected times and places. It shows tantalizing glimpses of its presence in the shower, when my slippery hands are unable to hold onto it, it beckons when I am in the middle of an interesting conversation, drops in uninvited when I am at a party, or, out with friends.

How does one then tackle, or, get the better of the muse?

Many veteran writers advice keeping a notepad and a pen on the bedside, purse, and within easy reach, to trap the thoughts that are constantly invading a writer’s mind space. Every idea should be jotted down for future use. Even random words and phrases. There is no knowing when these tiny seeds will germinate into lush trees, and  stray words into character names and random phrases into chapter titles.

One extremely old writer has the best words of wisdom. After waking up in the morning, spend few minutes lying in bed recollecting the dream/s. Sometimes these dreams are subconscious muses that connect the previously unconnected dots and provide vital clues that can untangle the tricky knots that crop up during drafts.

For many writers their muse has dropped in for prolonged visits during their sleep. Lucky people! Jorge Amado, the famous South American writer regarded himself as a ‘professional dreamer.’ He had often said that the greater part of his work was conceived in dreams and he wrote down the images and visions he remembered on waking up. These images were incorporated in his books. “All I am,” said Amado “ is a hard working recorder of dreams. If I didn’t have dreams, I wouldn’t know what to write about.”

One of the most famous writers to draw inspiration from his dreams was Gustave Flaubert. He normally slept five hours a night, but he said, “ the sixth hour of my sleep is given over to dreaming.” He would reach for his notebook on waking up and record his dreams, referring to his notes when he wrote his novels and stories.

In his ‘Temptation of Saint Anthony,’ Flaubert recounted some of the events that had happened in his dreams. Odilon Redon, the famous painter and engraver who illustrated the book with a series of beautiful lithographs had written: “if you had not known that Flaubert conceived this book in his dream, you would have feared his wild imagination.”

Dream Diaries are extremely useful. Unfortunately for me my muse drops by for a visit only during my waking hours. No snooze time visits for me.

When does the muse visit you? Has the subconscious muse dropped by for a tete-a-tete with you? I would love to know.