Where to find inspiration? (Part 3)
Hello again! Welcome back! Last week we talked about getting ideas and inspiration from books. The week before that it was history and nature documentaries. This week we’re going for a double feature, because I’m aiming to be brief. Let’s dive right in:
First, I wanted to talk about getting out and actually ‘doing the thing’. There is no better way to know what your characters are experiencing than to do it yourself! This can include hiking, camping, obstacle course racing, riding a horse, finding a blacksmithing class, you name it. I try to get out and spend time in nature when I can, walking and hiking can be a great way to get inspiration. For me, I love hiking in the mountains. One of my favorite smells in the whole world is pine tree sap in the sunshine. Details like that can be nice to include for your readers.
I like to travel as well, and keeping a journal of different things you experience in different places you visit can be a great source of inspiration later. What’s the weather like? Is it it hot and humid? Is it dry and dusty? Is it cold? How does the climate affect your character? These types of questions tend to lead me down some interesting rabbit holes. In places where it’s really humid, how did people in past times keep from chafing or getting the dreaded ‘swamp ass’ in 90 degree weather at 80% humidity? (I pondered this while visiting historic fort Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine Florida. I was looking at pictures of Spanish explorers posted in the fort and their long sleeves, long pants, multiple layers, and armor. How did they make this work? I have yet to find a satisfactory answer.)
Another example I feel is particularly relevant is obstacle course racing. I enjoy getting out and doing an obstacle course race every season. One of the hardest things I’ve done was a 13 mile obstacle course race up in Breckenridge, CO. It took nearly 6 hours, and we had a 4000 foot elevation gain, waded through icy mountain rivers, crawled up steep slopes in the snow, had to push, pull, drag, and carry 80#+ objects of varying size and shape, climb different structures, and so on. Getting out, getting muddy, and actually doing these things helps me remember exactly what my characters might go through, and, even better, how to make things harder and more miserable for them. Walking miles through freezing cold mud in the rain anyone? Point is, there is no substitute for experience. Get out and experience the thing if you can! You never know when it might inspire some new ideas for your creative works.
Secondly… movies. Phil is somewhere about to come unglued because I have a confession to make. Movies are not my favorite thing in the world. (I can’t say for sure if they are Phil’s favorite thing, but they are very high up there on his list.) I do have a select few movies that I really enjoy, but generally speaking I have a hard time sitting still and watching a movie. However, movies, just like books, have plot types, character types, and so on. Phil and Dustin have talked me into trying to watch a new movie each week and then analyzing it and discussing it with them. What did I like about the movie and why? What didn’t I like and why? How would I have fixed that? What did the movie do well? What didn’t it do well? I’ve watched more movies in the last 6 months than I have, possibly in my entire life. Shocking, I know.
What I am learning is that movies have such a limited time frame, they have to move the story along very quickly, which means everything should drive the story forward, there should be no superfluous fluff, even in a long movie. Good movies do this really well. In terms of story telling, film teaches you how to create a beat, hot to set up a scene, how to string scenes together to form a sequence, how to create a turn, a climax, and more. I’ve learned things both from movies I really hated as well as movies I thought were fantastic: good set ups, snappy dialog, cinematic moments, and showing vs telling. I watched series Arcane on Netflix back in Nov/Dec of last year, and that show did an absolutely fantastic job of setting great scenes, constantly raising the stakes for our characters, and forcing them to take greater and greater risks to achieve their goals, which is the essence of conflict, and conflict is what moves our story forward. I HIGHLY recommend Arcane if you haven’t seen it.
Some of my favorite movies are:
- Princess Mononoke
- The Labyrinth
- The Matrix (The original one from 1999)
- The Princess Bride
- Silence of the Lambs
Just like with movies, I would recommend that you create a list of movies that you absolutely enjoy and see if there are common threads that run between them. What is it about these movies that gets you excited to watch them again and again? Which scenes are your favorite? Which scenes hit you the hardest?
That’s all for today. Until next time dear reader, go out and experience something new, challenge yourself, enjoy some nature. And… I guess… if you have to… watch a movie. (≧▽≦) I’m saving the best post for last, so I’m looking forward to seeing you all next week. Cheers! <3
