Drawing Inspiration
The Influence of Media Consumption
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what inspires me. Not just for my current project, but about writing in general. I have a whole bunch of random general ideas that I keep in my back pocket for future projects, and when I really reflect on them, I realize that I get inspired by so many things.
A lot of it comes from music - sometimes I’ll be listening to a piece that fits my mood just right and there will be this moment that’s just perfect. And BAM! It’s like I temporarily develop a specific type of synesthesia and my brain takes the sounds and interprets an image from it and creates an idea. Sometimes it’s just a feeling that I later think about and determine what event would need to transpire to get that feeling and an idea blossoms that way. And other times it’s the lyrics themselves. I’ll listen to a beautifully crafted line and think that it would fit a character with [such and such descriptors].
It can also come from movies and TV shows. I was watching the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie yesterday (I always forget how obsessed I am with those until I watch them again) and was so invested in all of the characters and plot lines. After a particularly engaging scene, I like to allow my mind to wander with one brainstorming question in mind: What kind of scene could I create that would invoke the same emotion I just felt? And since I’m already so excited and happy, it’s a lot easier for my brain to come up with a whole bunch of different things. I guess it’s addicted to those happy chemicals, huh?
And, most surprisingly (at least in my opinion), is social media. I know - shocker. But sometimes I’ll be scrolling through, losing countless hours to mind rot, and I’ll stumble across some really cool things. Reels that have a unique vibe, old Tumblr posts where one specific sentence or term just sticks out and implants itself in my mind, or a post/reel about mental health that resonates with me. Similar to the movie/TV show source, I’ll ask myself how I could bring that level of intrigue to my writing. With the mental health posts, I tend to think about how I’d love for that representation to be in something I read and I become motivated to include it somehow.
Then there’s the tried and true people watching. People are so weird and unique and cool and odd. There’s so many unique quirks that you can see simply by observing people while they’re out and about. In times of writer’s block or any sort of creative struggle, it’s nice (and important) to be able to remember that inspiration can be found anywhere.