The Twisted Mind of a Writer: Finding Inspiration In Strange Places

Photo by gb_packards

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I want to thank all of my guest posters who kept the blog going while I was road tripping back and forth to Branson, MO. We had a great vacation and actually survived our first big road trip with the kidlet. All I have to say is I'd like to thank the makers of portable DVD players and the VTech MobiGo handheld game. Anything that can keep a three year old occupied for the better part of six hours in a carseat is a Christmas miracle.

And though we usually fly to vacations, I have to say I really enjoyed road-tripping it this time. We went through Arkansas on the way to Missouri, then through Oklahoma on the way back. There was some beautiful country and mountains to drive through. Really gorgeous route. (And I tweeted this yesterday, but I had no idea Oklahoma had mountains. We drove into Oklahoma and I expected flat plains and boom, we're in the Oauchita mountains. Who knew?)

But in addition to the pretty scenery, we also passed through countless small rural towns. Some that looked like abandoned ghost towns, some that made me think the Jeepers Creepers truck was going to start tailing us anytime, and others that had my mind whirling with story ideas.

I'd see a broken down barn and wonder what hid inside. I'd see the town's one school (all grades in one building) and wonder what it'd be like to grow up in a place where there wasn't even a high school. And I definitely saw countless places that would make it easy to hide a body or hole up and hide from the world, lol. I even saw a "runaway truck" ramp in the mountains, which is apparently a place for 18-wheelers to go if they are going down a steep mountain and their brakes stop working.

Each of these things got my brain working as I started weaving stories that could utilize all these different things. So, of course, I asked my husband if that happens to him when he looks at all this stuff, like is he wondering if that guy with the long beard fixing a fence is really a serial killer who escaped detection and now spends his time doing cash jobs in the mountains.

After giving me the oh-my-strange-little-writer-wife smile, he said that no, he just wonders how people can live so far from simple things like a grocery store. He also noticed that they all had satellite dishes because, well, he's a guy and wondering how TV gets to these places is of interest.

But the whole conversation just reminded me again that writers are just different kind of people--we're a little...off, lol. And thank God for it because that gives us our creativity. But it also explains why we're always so happy to find others like us to talk to and network with. It's nice to know we're not alone in our strangeness. : )

So is this how you view the world as well? What strange places have you gotten inspiration from?

**Today's Theme Song**

"People Are Strange" - The Doors

(player in sidebar, take a listen) 

Why Is My Muse Hiding in the Shower?

Ah, that elusive muse. It's the writer's blessing and curse. It can be the source of wildly exciting inspiration or it can be the bane of our existence when the ideas stop flowing. So how do we learn to work with this fickle part of the writing process?

Well, first there is the "butt in chair" philosophy, which means even if your muse is on a bender to the Bahamas, you still sit in front of your computer and write. The idea is that eventually the inspiration will return. This is an important method to consider because once you have a contract and are on a deadline, you won't have the luxury of taking a few weeks/months off to let your muse return to you.

However, forcing the creative process sometimes shuts your mind down even further because you're using the logical part of your brain ("I need to get this down because x, y, z."), which can choke the free-flowing creative side.

So how do we free up that creative side?

Well, different things work for different people, but the goal is to get your mind into a relaxed state where the logical part can rest and the other side can take over.  For instance, I was watching an interview on The View with Aaron Sorkin. He was talking about writing the movie The Social Network (saw it yesterday, btw. FAB-U-LOUS. Seriously. Go see it.) But anyway, he said when he was writing it, he was taking like six showers a day. The ladies of The View looked at him like he was crazy, but I was like--Oh, I so get that.

He said the reason he was taking so many showers was because that's when the scenes would come to him. So when he got stuck, he'd either get back in the shower or would go for a long drive.

And those are two of my favorite places for inspiration too. Anywhere my mind zones out and goes on autopilot--the shower, a monotonous car ride, lying in bed at night before I go to sleep, listening to music. When I'm stuck, those are the times that the words finally come.

So, if you're doing BIC (butt-in-chair) but it's just not working. Get up, go for a long walk, a drive, or hell, jump in the shower like Aaron Sorkin. Give yourself permission to relax your mind so that you can hear the muse when he/she whispers to you.

So I'm curious, when does the inspiration usually hit you? What are some activities you do to let the creativity flow? Are you a believer of butt-in chair?

**Today's Theme Song**
"You're the Inspiration" - Chicago

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Characters in the Belfry and (Not so)WIP Wednesday

I don't have much to report for WIP Wednesday since I wrapped up the synopsis and such last week. However, now I have a different problem. I haven't started the next WIP yet, and it's driving me bonkers. There are so many ideas and characters whirling around my head, but none have come together enough for me to latch on to it. Each time, I'm like "oh, that's a good one!", I try to think it out further and then hit mental block on how to make it a fully realized story. Grr.

I want to make sure that whatever I start is "high concept" (more on this term tomorrow). Something that with a one sentence log line, people say--ooh, I want to read that. And as of yet, that concept hasn't come to me.

And the bad thing about not having a true work in progress is that I feel totally restless and without focus. My husband keeps asking me why I'm so quiet lately. It's because I can't stop turning over ideas and characters in my head. Any moment of the day I can snatch to think through them, I do. This includes at night before I fall asleep, which means I'm tossing and turning until at least midnight lately. *sigh* I'm super fun to be around right now, let me tell you. ;)

On a good note, I am one follower away from 100 followers! Thanks you guys! Who is going to cheer me up and be number one hundred? *hint hint to any new readers out there*

So am I the only one who gets so frazzled and grumpy when not actively working on a manuscript? How do you decide which idea is "the one"? How is your WIP going?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Funhouse" - Pink

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

The Musical Muse

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending Dia de los Toadies, an annual concert event for the popular Dallas band, The Toadies. If you like hard rock and have never checked them out, please do. I go to a lot of concerts and the one this weekend was one of the best I've been to. Nothing like listening to great music in the middle of the Texas wilderness (it was held on the grounds of a ranch) with a couple thousand of your closest strangers. :)

On the way home, I started thinking about how music is tied to so much of my life. Each of us has a soundtrack that matches up with certain parts of our history. The Toadies' music always reminds me of when my husband and I first got together because he was the one who introduced me to their music. No matter what, when I hear one of their songs, I feel that emotion of fresh, new love. The same goes for so many other times in my life. The Cranberries and Alanis Morrissette make me think of high school. New Kids remind me of my preteen years. Led Zeppelin reminds me of my stepdad, who introduced me to 70s rock. The 80s song "Rock Steady", I don't even remember who it's by, reminds me of my mom because she used to use this song when she taught aerobics (and I had to sit and watch the class--while eating cheetos and drinking a soft drink, mind you).

So music definitely is linked closely to my emotions and memories. Perhaps this is why I find it so useful when I'm writing. I rarely write in silence. I almost always have something playing while I'm working on a scene. For my YA, I listened to a lot of current music: Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, Secondhand Serenade, Green Day, Pink, etc. I didn't even do this on purpose, it's just what I was drawn to while trying to write in a teen voice.

My latest WIP is about a rockstar, so I definitely was influenced on that one. I pulled out the 80s hair bands (Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Cinderella) along with some newer stuff, like Buckcherry and 30 seconds to Mars. Come to think of it, my male protagonist has an uncanny resemblance to Buckcherry's lead singer, Josh Todd. Hmm, maybe I was a bit too influenced by the music, lol. Although, you have to admit, he is pretty yummy (if you're into that whole bad boy thing). ;)

So how about you? Do you listen to music while writing? Have any songs influenced your stories? What singers/bands/songs do you listen to while writing?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Tyler" - The Toadies

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

Channeling Your Inner Teenager

So when writing YA, one of the most important aspects of developing your story is creating an authentic teen voice. Every article you read about writing in this genre puts emphasis on that. If you sound like an adult, the teen readers will cry foul--you poser, you faker, you parent in disguise!

So how does one develop an authentic teen voice? For some of us, that voice comes easy, maybe we aren't that far from those years or we never grew up in the first place. For others, the teen voice is buried deep under the years of experience, grammar lessons, vocabulary expansion, and life lessons. But the truth of the matter is, we all have one under there. I confirmed this for myself last night.

Last night I went to the New Kids on the Block concert. To give you a little background, as a preteen I was totally obsessed (like most others my age) with the band. My room was plastered (walls and ceiling) with their pictures. I had the comforter set, complete with Joe and Jordan pillowcases. I wrote to Oprah begging to meet them. My wardrobe consisted solely of New kids t-shirts, a jean jacket, and oversized buttons with pics of them. My birthday parties were NKOTB themed. You get the picture.

So, last night when I attended the concert, I was excited--in my mature, adult kind of way. :) The concert was going well. I was enjoying myself. Clapping and singing like a normal 29-year-old person. Then suddenly, the venue staff started setting up a little platform in the aisle near my seats. My husband pointed it out to me and pushed me in that direction to get a spot for whatever was going to happen. I did, landing a spot right in front of the security guard. People started piling in. I figured something was going to happen, and I knew I would be cool about it. Then, the lights went out and who stepped on to the platform a mere two feet in front of me? The Jordan Knight. Right there, in the flesh, within touching distance. So much for being cool. I lost my freaking mind.

Gone was the wife, mom, quiet-natured person. I was suddenly possessed by the 12-year-old version of myself. I couldn't stop screaming and jumping. I almost got into my first girl fight when some chick rudely (using her fake boobs as a battering ram) tried to shove her way through those of us who had already established position. (She didn't get past me. I may have cussed her out and pushed back. I'm not sure. ;) ) I felt more frantic then I can ever remember feeling in my life. Pure, unadulterated, childlike joy filled me. I touched Jordan's shoulder, he smiled at me. My preteen dreams come true.

This proved to me that the preteen/teen is still inside me, she just needs to be channeled. And oh how fun it was to be back in her shoes, if even for a few moments. So, when I'm struggling with finding my YA voice, trying to find that right level of emotion or angst or internal drama, I'm going to recall this moment and let "teen me" answer the question.

So, what gets you into the right mindset to write the YA voice? Music? Memories? Observing your own teenage children? Leave a comment and let me know.