Anyone who styles themself an artist has a starting point for their art. The idea from which a story is born. A flash of perception that inspires a painting. A sequence of notes that begin a musical composition. And so forth. How do you capture these things? Do you rely on fitful memory, hoping that the muse will not have fled before you can reach your desk? Do you keep a notepad or sketchpad or something always at hand, so that fragile wisps of inspiration can be stuffed and mounted before they escape? I carry a day pack with me just about everywhere, with at least one sketchpad and one notebook in it at all times. Just in case, y'know? What do you guys do?
Not that I'm any expert (my lifetime literary production is a few short stories, one feature-length script, and an occasionally profound Wordforge post), but my ideas tend to develop when I'm commuting because my mind is pretty free to wander. I usually get a very short, simple idea and then develop it from there. I write these ideas down and review them from time to time; if any of them continue to develop in my mind, those are good candidates to actually try writing up. An example idea that I'm probably going to build on because I've found some intriguing things I can do with it: "An astronaut who believes the space program is largely unworthwhile--but who wants to get his own moment of fame--lands on the moon and is confronted by a mystery over which he becomes obsessive."
I normally have a few scenes or spiky bits of dialog I know I must have (either because I want them or the producers demand them) and work them in and fill in the gaps around them. I know I want a big plot twist at 20 minutes and a second plot twist at 60 minutes and just have to fill in the minutes in between.
I've forgotten way more than I ever put on paper...but I'm insulated some from that in that my best ideas come from songs and whenever I hear the song the idea returns.
Yes, but what I'm asking is how you capture your ideas. You know, if you're out somewhere and suddenly that flash of inspiration strikes. Do you write it in a handy notebook? Mumble it into a tape recorder? Scratch it on the back of an envelope? I mean when you're away from your usual creative spot. Not at your desk. Outside in the sunshine. Like that.
Scribble it on any scrap of paper I can grab onto. It gets really interesting when it's one of those 4 a.m. Oh, God, don't make me turn on the light! situations. I'll scribble something-or-other - key words or a scrap of dialogue or something - in the margin of a crossword book on the nightstand in the dark, then go back to sleep. The fun part is the next morning when I try to figure out WTF this gibberish means when half the time I don't even remember writing it.
Here's a related question: Anyone ever have something happen to them IRL that was eerily similar to something they'd written?
I've had a number of "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" moments, but this is one of my favorites: I was finishing up the final draft of Preternatural and took a little break to visit friends in Oregon. Part of our trip included a visit to the aquarium in Newport. Basic premise of Preternatural is that a group of telepathic aliens find themselves in communication with humans, and think the humans are just imaginary. At the same time, the humans are having what they think are hallucinations about telepathic aliens. The aliens look like jellyfish. One of the humans who's in touch with the alien jellyfish is a former actress turned New Age guru named Tessa McGill. Well, my friends and I get to the aquarium, and we gravitate toward this freestanding tank full of Moon Jellies. There's a shark tank on the other side of the room, and a mother and three kids - two boys about 12 and 6, a girl somewhere in between - are watching the sharks. Mom's got a camera, and she sees the jellyfish tank. It's backlit, the Moon Jellies are ghostly white and almost transparent; the effect is really eerie, and Mom figures it'll make a great backdrop for a family photo. She sets the two boys up, but the little girl is still watching the sharks. As I step out of the way so she can take the photo, Mom turns to the little girl and says "Tessa, come over and stand by the jellyfish." Not exactly déjà vu, but definitely weird...
Sometimes, I have quite weird and/or funny dreams. Some image out of one usually serves as a starting point. Tonight's could have been one of those, but on closer examination it's just not creative enough. I mean, what's interesting about breaking out of a boarding school occupied by armed & evil teachers via the basement and walking all the way home - suddenly naked for no reason at all?! My biggest, um, success was an image of a guy sitting on a curb at night and vomiting chicken innards btw. Made for a great little 10 line prologue that drew readers right in.
I have used a dream as the origin point for a story at least twice. The first one led into the longest cycle of related stories I've yet written, tho they are all comic book superhero related. I kept a dream journal for a while in part because I wanted to see if any good story possibilities would present themselves. Alas, they did not. And it got too freaky, so I stopped doing it.
