Writer's Inspiration in Writing

Rookie Scribe

0 likes 11 Jun 2012

We all start from scratch, but this is normal. As writers we all begin from gathering ideas around us from which we would build a great story. This story should provide readers’ entertainment, it will catch their interest and that it will evoke emotions. You should think of an idea that you believe you will not get tired of developing, because in writing it is not enough to write, editing is part of it.

There is a philosophy that stories could be found anywhere. It could be from your own experiences or from others. Your life experiences, family, friends, colleagues and neighbors are all up for grabs to serve as your inspiration in writing.

Below are the 9 top sources of inspiration. I am sure that we share at least two or more of them.

1. Your experiences
2. Family
3. Friends
4. The Neighborhood
5. True Life Stories
6. Dreams
7. Media
8. Gossip
9. Sensations

Keeping your own lists of inspiration will help you to create a lot of ideas in starting your story. Also by connecting those you may build a unique book. Stay inspired, so that you would end up putting your books to different book stand.

What sources of inspiration have you found helpful? I’d love to hear your insights – please leave your comments below on how to starting writing a book and get a discussion going!

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DirtyMartini

Rest in Peace

0 likes 11 Jun 2012

Other people's stories have always been a big inspiration for me, and not necessarily "true-life" stories like you have in No. 5, other fiction stories are usually where I get my inspiration for me at least...toss in some real life experience, and I usually can come up with a story of my own...

I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...

max

Rookie Scribe

0 likes 19 Jul 2012

I am currently reading Alex Kershaw's biography of Jack London (author of Call of the wild - White Fang - Martin eden). He quotes Jack as saying, "I'm darned if any stories just come to me. I had to work like the devil for the themes. Then of course, it was easy to just write them down. Expression, you see - with me - is far easier than invention." Jack London bought plots from a struggling writer , Sinclair Lewis. So maybe there is a 10th inspiration - Other Peoples. So I agree with DirtyMartini - whatever works. I read in the newspaper today that ghost writers are re-writing Jane Eyre to make it a piece of erotica. I have no problem with erotica (I have written some myself), but to ghost re-write another author's story. That to me sounds like plagiarism at best - theft at worst. I suppose publishing houses must cash in on any new trends and 'Fifty Shades of Grey' - is certainly a new trend.

Unknown User

0 likes 20 Jul 2012

Quote by max
I am currently reading Alex Kershaw's biography of Jack London (author of Call of the wild - White Fang - Martin eden). He quotes Jack as saying, "I'm darned if any stories just come to me. I had to work like the devil for the themes. Then of course, it was easy to just write them down. Expression, you see - with me - is far easier than invention." Jack London bought plots from a struggling writer , Sinclair Lewis. So maybe there is a 10th inspiration - Other Peoples. So I agree with DirtyMartini - whatever works. I read in the newspaper today that ghost writers are re-writing Jane Eyre to make it a piece of erotica. I have no problem with erotica (I have written some myself), but to ghost re-write another author's story. That to me sounds like plagiarism at best - theft at worst. I suppose publishing houses must cash in on any new trends and 'Fifty Shades of Grey' - is certainly a new trend.

That's a tricky statement. A ghost writer is someone who does the writing, based on an agreement, for someone who then publishes it under his or her own name. With an author such as Charlotte Brontë who has been dead for well over a century and whose works are now in the public domain, it doesn't seem to me that a sequel of any form would be ghost written. Unless of course it were published under the author name of X or Annonymous. The scandal would be if it were published under Charlotte Brontë's name, and while that would engender a great deal of publicity, the uproar would be justifiably great.

It seems to me that what you are referring to falls into the category of either sequels, which should be honestly labelled as such, or fan fiction, or perhaps both. Recently I discovered that the English crime writer, P. D. James had written a crime sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, entitled Murder at Pemberley. Intrigued, I downloaded the sample to my Kindle and subsequently purchased and read the book. It's an enjoyable read, by the way and James remains true to Austen's characters while developing some of them in a most satisfactory way.

While looking for the title at Amazon, however, I discovered that there are a huge number of books that are sequels to Jane Austen's works, particularly to Pride and Prejudice. Out of curiousity I read samples from three that sounded interesting, and hastily deleted them from the device. Now that I've read P.D. James' crime sequel, that is enough for me. She did a far better job and tribute to both the original work and the author than any of the writers whose chapters I sampled did. James' book left me with my impressions of Pride and Prejudice intact; the sampling of other writers did not. Let them write their sequels if they haven't any other subject to explore, as long as I'm not obligated to read them.

Personally I don't think Jane Eyre is material for an erotic rewrite, and I, too, have written, read, moderated and edited plenty of erotica. I have nothing against it, but am very thankful I will not have to read any erotic versions of books such as Jane Eyre.

I don't think it is theft, unless the published tries to pass it off as an original manuscript written by Charlotte Brontë. Plagiarism? That is a tricky area as well, but according to the definition of plagiarism and the fact the this is open and above board, I don't think it is:

pla·gia·rism
[pley-juh-riz-uhm, -jee-uh-riz-] Show IPA
noun
1.
an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author: It is said that he plagiarized Thoreau's plagiarism of a line written by Montaigne. Synonyms: appropriation, infringement, piracy, counterfeiting; theft, borrowing, cribbing, passing off.
2.
a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation: “These two manuscripts are clearly plagiarisms,” the editor said, tossing them angrily on the floor.

That quote is from Dictionary.com by the way, and since we're discussing plagiarism, I thought it best to specify that. study

I read the following in The Guardian today, so it is interesting you've brought this up for discussion:

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey to be reworked by Val McDermid

Austen's early novel is to be reimagined by the bestselling crime author for a modern audience, as a suspense-filled teen thriller

Val McDermid is to bring a "frisson of fear" to Jane Austen's least-read book, Northanger Abbey, after being signed to write a contemporary reworking of the gothic novel parody.

McDermid is the third author to have been asked by HarperCollins to reimagine Austen for a modern audience: Joanna Trollope's Sense and Sensibility is out next autumn, and Curtis Sittenfeld's Pride and Prejudice the following year. "I was genuinely gobsmacked when I got the call," said the award-winning Scottish crime writer. "I thought, me and Jane Austen? That's such a fucking natural pairing. But I'm absolutely delighted by the idea."

The rest of the article can be read at The Guardian, but this is a case of it being open and above board, with pre-publication announcements and publicity about it.