What Inspires me . . .

Writing is more than putting pen to paper, as any writer will tell you. A lot of people will shake their heads and wonder where a writer gets all of his or her ideas for stories. Remember that there is literally nothing new under the sun, just new ways of making the old seem new; but there really is a story in everything. Even so, most writers find themselves inspired to write or find their stories inspired by certain things. Here's where I find most (but not all) of my inspiration:


Music .|. Have you ever had a song . . .
More than anything else, music influences not only what I write, but how. I am a particularly visual thinker, and music inspires imagery for me. It has inspired entire scenes, and even short stories, at times. Probably the biggest influence for my Alden based novels and stories is Creed; every album has songs that work to inspire more about the fantasy world I've created and the stories being written in it.


Dreams .|. When my thoughts are free to do as they choose . . .
Another huge source for my writing comes from my dreams. I have entire novels built on the bases of a dream . . . or two . . . or more. There is one story that keeps coming back to me in dreams and will eventually be written out in full. As with music, my dreams are very visual, and probably a good deal more intricate and complex than what most would believe. I can dream entire stories from beginning to end in one night, as well as pieces of stories, backgrounds to my stories, and background and bits and pieces of my novels. I even do world building in my dreams. Not that I always dream the same, and it can be a very interesting twist when I get a different version of something.


Games .|. Characters & events beyond my imagination . . .
One of the things I truly enjoy about gaming is the personalities other people come up with. As a game master, it is my job to build the story line, create the surroundings and events, but when you bring in other players, well, the best laid plans never quite come out the way you imagine them. However, as many have noted in the past, my gaming experiences have left a distinct impression on my novels, an impression I both wish to exploit in a way and overcome in another.


Life .|. Stranger than fiction . . .
Even the most fantastical fiction is touched with reality and some of the best fiction I've read blends the real with the imagined in such a way that there is no separating them. Everything from my experiences to the people I meet to my surroundings can find its way into my fiction.