My inspirations don't come
predominantly from fiction. I am often inspired by video games,
movies, and television. Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and other RPGs,
concepts like The Highlander and Blade Runner, all of those goofy
80's werewolf movies, the awesome science fiction I've seen,
and just about anything to do with Merlin, Star Wars, and Star Trek.
My greatest movie inspiration is
the “Wizard of Oz”. It hooked me on fantasy at a young age.
I have watched Dorothy dozens of times. I finally read the book as an
adult. The book is better in many ways, but it didn't give me the
same nightmarish imagery as the 1939 film.
When I was four, I dressed
as the Wicked Witch of the West for Halloween. It was scandalous—and
awesome! (I have done little
cross dressing since then.)
Music
is an inspiration to me. Not only when I'm writing, when I listen to
the sounds of Guns N Roses or Stone Temple Pilots, but also when I'm
not writing. The eerie moods of Pink Floyd or the ancient tones of
Led Zeppelin set a pace for my future imaginations.
I'm inspired by art and architecture. Google “fantasy art” and see all of
the wonderful designs on the internet. The imagery sets the tone for
my writing. Castles, as well, have pushed me in the direction I'm
going. I was fortunate enough to interact with castles as a child,
living in Germany. How could I touch the archaic, timeless stones and
not want to create something equally impressive?
Books have their place as well. Tolkien's “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”, Anne
Rice's “Vampire Chronicles”, Frank Herbert's “Dune”, Stephen
King's “It” and “Tommyknockers”, and Lloyd Alexander's
“Chronicles of Prydain” shaped my growth into fantasy.
These epic novels and series were enjoyable and educational. They've
taught me what a good story looks like. They've taught me what makes
characters real.
The common denominator of the above media are the images they put inside my
mind. They fill the well from which I draw ideas, inspirations,
plots, scenes, settings, characters. I enjoy taking the old and
adding to it the new—that part of me yet to be tapped,
that unique creativity only I have, because only I am me.
I am who I am because of
these things. They have shaped me as much as anything else has.
They've pushed me into creativity, if only by being so much fun that
I needed more. Only I can make more, just the way I want it.
I create for me, to
recapture that feeling I had when I was a child, watching Star Wars
or reading “The High King”. It's that feeling I seek when I
write. If I can return that feeling to those who read my books, I
will have completed a circle. The circle is destiny.
Every single creator of
the works I've listed above were inspired by others, by men and women or by nature.
They emulated that inspiration until they finally emulated
themselves. Then they gave the world something new and bold, and
inspired new generations of humans.
They returned the favor.
But I have a question. Am I attracted to these things because of the way I am, or am I the way I am because I've been marked by the things I've experienced in film, music, art, and books?
Which came first: the dinosaur or the egg?
Posts
Inspiration can be found anywhere. I also get mine from several places whether music, art, film, or a favorite quote from a book. By the way, I like Highlander, too. Haven't seen it in years though. JR, you are an inspiration. Thanks for all of the wonderful quotes!
ReplyDeleteThe egg came first. As for inspiration, I've read and seen most of the same movies as you, but I take it more from my personal experiences and dreams because I'm always thinking the 'what if'. I guess it my way of reaching into the unreal. I guess each of us is different and though we get inspiration from different things, its the fact we put them on paper that separates us from others.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Scott. A lot of my own experience is involved, I just felt like documenting this stuff :P
Deletethatz the beauty of human mind.. we sometimes pick up things from places one can never think of :)
ReplyDeleteit is a beautiful process...
we listen music, watch movies, read, travel and what not... it not only inspire us but also helps in our over all development.. !!
awesome read Nova..
visiting after a long time
hope u doing fine.
Doing great!
DeleteOur minds, the way we pick up on things, almost seems random...but I know it's not. Very awesome though, for it makes for many interesting and different people.
Once your inspirations have woven themselves into a new entity, they lay an egg. It of course has to hatch and grow to foster it's own thread of inspiration. Mmuaua - life is a circle.
ReplyDeleteHere's to me not eating that egg before it hatches! lol
DeletePhysical reality is only one aspect of what comes from mind. The beauty of mind is it can be limitless. Think also of Jungian collective consciousness as an example of non-physical messages spanning many. Even without non verbal communication people can feel the same thought. The things we all use as references are good ways of dipping back into the collective so that we can communicate our thoughts better as a group, or more importantly to be understood when we want to be understood. We can become more abstract when we want fewer people to understand us, or just a select few.
ReplyDeleteNice item, hope I wasn't too abstract :)
I don't know if you were too abstract or not, but it was music to my ears.
DeleteI think it's a combination of both - you are attracted to certain things because of your interests or personality, perhaps and they can in turn influence your tastes further.
ReplyDeleteOr at least that's what I'm thinking! :)